Terry Glavin is a columnist with the National Post and publishes the Real Story on Substack. Charles Burton is sinologist, former Canadian diplomat in China and author of “The Beaver and the Dragon: How China Out-Manoeuvred Canada’s Diplomacy, Security and Sovereignty.”
They spoke April 19 at the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement’s forum on foreign interference and Canada-China relations, “Democracy Under Pressure — China’s Influence in Canada and Beyond.”
Terry Glavin and Charles Burton are Bob Mackin’s guests this week.
An advisor to Premier David Eby said his organization hosted two Conservative Party of B.C. leadership candidates and they both denied Chinese foreign interference played a role in Richmond during the 2021 federal election.
Peter Milobar at a Canada Committee 100 Society event in Richmond. The screen reads: “A Dialogue Between CCS 100 and Peter Milobar.”
In an English translation of a video posted to WeChat, Canada Committee 100 Society (CCS 100) founding president Ding Guo did not name the candidates, but said he “raised concerns about the previous federal election, where some attributed the loss of an MP to foreign interference on voters in Richmond. I asked for their stance on these views.”
“Both candidates expressed their disagreement with such characterizations,” Ding said.
theBreaker.news confirmed with Peter Milobar that he spoke at a CCS 100 event in Richmond’s Phantom Creek Estates hospitality centre attended by 50 to 60 people.
Milobar said he had not met Ding before the event and could not remember if Ding was the host or master of ceremonies sitting next to him, or if he asked a question from the crowd.
Milobar said Ding’s statement was inaccurate.
“I stated I have concerns about foreign interference regardless of country of origin, including [non-governmental organizations] with foreign money from foundations that shape things as well in B.C. and Canada,” said Milobar, the Conservative finance critic and Kamloops Centre MLA.
Milobar said it would have been the same day as another event in Richmond, a campaign banquet at Neptune Seafood Restaurant on April 4.
“I can’t control what others — how they may want to interpret what I say or didn’t —when I know what I’ve said.”
Premier David Eby (left) and Ding Guo last fall at the Phantom Creek Estates hospitality centre in Richmond. (CCS100)
Ding, who also goes by David Ding, has not responded for comment.
In 2021, before he became premier, Eby’s Attorney General ministry granted CCS 100 $20,000 to host 10 Chinese-speaking meetings in Vancouver, Richmond and Kelowna to discuss race-based data collection.
The Hogue Commission’s final report in 2025 said foreign interference was a factor in the 2021 loss of incumbent Conservative Kenny Chiu in the Steveston-Richmond East election.
Chiu had proposed a registry of foreign agents and voted to condemn China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims.
“Although information received during the review led to suspicions that attempts to influence the Chinese-Canadian community existed, the [OCCE] did not obtain sufficient evidence to support any of the elements of undue foreign influence or other contraventions of the Act,” the report said.
“Investigators did, however, find indications that PRC officials gave impetus and direction to an anti-Conservative Party campaign, which was then carried out and amplified by an array of associations and individuals using various communication channels.”
Foreign Interference Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue called China “the most active perpetrator of foreign interference targeting Canada’s democratic institutions.”
Hogue said China “targets all levels of government in Canada,” through the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, which “tries to control and influence Chinese diaspora communities, shape international opinions and influence politicians to support PRC policies.”
Ontario and British Columbia’s information and privacy watchdogs publicly called May 4 for Toronto and Vancouver officials to follow all laws governing surveillance systems during FIFA World Cup 26.
“Our city governments, police services, and other agencies are making necessary efforts to ensure the safety and security of athletes, fans, visitors, and residents going about their daily lives during the events,” said the joint statement from Ontario’s Patricia Kosseim and B.C.’s Michael Harvey.
“These efforts must include rigorous consideration of people’s privacy and information rights. This is particularly important when purchasing and using surveillance technologies meant to keep people safe.”
Ontario commissioner Patricia Kosseim (left) and B.C.’s Michael Harvey. (OIPC BC)
Their six-point statement said: all technologies and techniques must be legally authorized, necessary and proportionate; surveillance signage should be displayed in a clear an apparent manner; World Cup-related surveillance installations should be time-limited and video footage taken during the event must not be retained longer than necessary; and all third-party contracts must addresses accountability.
“Municipalities, police services and other agencies involved in preparing for and holding the FIFA World Cup must have clearly delineated roles and responsibilities from the early stages of planning to the closing out of the games. This is to ensure seamless governance and accountability for the collection, use, retention and secure disposal of personal information, including when in the hands of third-party contractors.”
Vancouver playbook
City of Vancouver is deploying a temporary surveillance camera network in six zones: around the training sites at Killarney and the UBC National Soccer Development Centre; the Hastings Park FIFA Fan Festival site; match-day spectator route to B.C. Place Stadium; the downtown hotel zone and the Granville Street and Commercial Drive entertainment zones.
Its key “digital infrastructure and innovation” contractor is Telus, hired for $12.9 million to install and operate WiFi, internet services and closed circuit television.
When it advertised the contract, the city said it planned to deploy up to 200 new remotely monitored cameras and integrate as many as 1,000 existing cameras to meet FIFA security requirements.
More than 200 cameras will be watching in 2026 City of Vancouver)
City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Police Department will oversee and operate the network.
“Other agencies may view information only when operationally required and cannot retain footage without approval,” said a statement from city hall.
The city said the network is fully compliant with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and city policies.
“It includes strict, role‑based access controls with audit logging, time-limited retention, secure disposal of recordings, and an express prohibition on facial recognition, biometric analysis, or any form of automated identification of individuals. All footage will be transmitted on secure Canadian infrastructure, stored locally, and will not transfer over international borders.”
Vancouver hosts seven matches at B.C. Place Stadium between June 13 and July 7, but festivities will continue. The city vows to turn-off all cameras after the July 19 final and fully decommission the network.
Security breach
The privacy watchdogs’ statement came, coincidentally, the same day that someone breached security at what is supposed to be one of British Columbia’s most-secure facilities: Vancouver International Airport.
Richmond RCMP responded around 4 a.m. and arrested a man who had climbed a barbed wire fence to the apron area and hid in the wheel-well of a Porter Airlines jet near the main terminal.
Vancouver officials previewed FIFA World Cup transportation and security plans on May 6, five weeks until the first of seven matches at B.C. Place.
Outside 29th Avenue SkyTrain station, they vowed to keep the city moving on TransLink with 600 more bus trips daily, increased SkyTrain service and shuttle buses between the FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE and 29th Avenue and Renfrew SkyTrain stations.
But the big eyeopener for road users is the closure of Pacific Boulevard near B.C. Place Stadium beginning May 23. Even more of the local street network in the area will be closed on match days.
Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Don Chapman (right) and City of Vancouver FIFA security co-lead Dave Jones (left). (Mackin)
“Residents and businesses impacted by event-related road closures in this area will be able to maintain most access with some limitations using our local traffic access passes, which are being enabled now and being presented to the community next week,” said host city secretariat COO Taunya Geelhoed.
Soccer security
Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Don Chapman said the host police force is working with the RCMP, Metro Vancouver Transit Police, Delta Police and Calgary and Edmonton Police.
During his presentation, Chapman highlighted public drunkenness, drones and fraud as concerns.
Alcohol only in licensed venues and no drones around B.C. Place Stadium. It will be a no-fly zone.
“It’s going to be tightly controlled, so drones of any size are not going to be permitted to fly within that restricted airspace,” Chapman said.
Some U.S. cities are planning counter-drone technology to intercept or shoot-down drones. That is not part of the VPD playbook.
“As a municipal police agency. I do not have the authority to bring down a drone,” Chapman said. “However, that is a federal responsibility, so we would rely on our federal partners to do detection work or any mitigation work.”
Chapman also cautioned ticket buyers to beware of ticketing scams.
“Now with respect to short-term rental fraud, fraudsters often advertise properties that actually don’t exist or they do not actually own,” Chapman said.
He said in the weeks and days leading up to the World Cup, the VPD and partners are planning training exercises on city streets and other public areas. Last month, a mass-casualty scenario was held at the PNE grounds with 200 officers and the city and police operations centres both stood-up to test plans.
The VPD is expecting protests. Host city security lead Dave Jones, former chief of the New Westminster and Transit Police forces, said they are also planning for fan marches.
“They’re generally provided escorts to make sure they get there, right? They’re a temporary measure, going from point A to point B, they want to get to the game. Lots of stuff goes into the timing of it, location start, and making sure that it’s a safe and enjoyable event to be part of.”
How much is it all costing?
That’s the big secret for now. Provincial and civic officials promise a news release later in May. Last June’s estimate was up to $624 million, including security and operations and capital expenses at B.C. Place Stadium.
Since then, the federal government added $145 million at the end of April to the $100 million in last November’s budget, to be split between Vancouver and Toronto.
Dave Jones, the City of Vancouver’s security leader, said the police deployment downtown would be the biggest in its history — more than the 2010 Winter Olympics.
An adjudicator with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner says the traffic studies around the Senakw towers in Vancouver can remain secret.
In an April 29 ruling, David Adams agreed with City of Vancouver’s decision to refuse access to the chair of the Kits Point Residents Association, because the city received the disputed information “under a mutual, reasonable expectation of confidentiality” from another government, the Squamish Nation.
Association chair Eve Munro originally filed a freedom of information request to city hall for the traffic impact studies in August 2022 about the project on Squamish Nation reserve land beside the Burrard Bridge.
Of the 179 pages she received a year later, only six pages were not censored. The city eventually provided another 57 pages, but those were also censored.
The city claimed that any further disclosure would harm relations with an Indigenous governing entity and compromise Indigenous cultural heritage and traditional knowledge.
The first three, federally approved residential towers nearing completion are the product of a partnership between Westbank Projects and the Squamish Nation’s Nch’Kay Development. The city’s involvement was limited to a services agreement.
Not in the public interest: adjudicator
Munro tried to make the case that disclosure of the records was in the public interest, but Adams disagreed, because the city has no jurisdiction over the project.
“The city may make decisions in relation to the traffic impacts of the project, but I cannot see how disclosure of the specific information in the records will allow the public to hold the city accountable for its decisions in that respect.”
“I accept that the public might be interested in knowing the information contained in the records, but the public interest, in the context of [the public interest override], does not encompass everything the public might be interested in learning.”
What is known
The only substantial record given Munro was a May 2020 memo from City of Vancouver transportation and parking management engineer Lynn Morishita to a manager at Westbank Development about “person trip generation.”
The memo references studies by consultant Bunt and Associates and mentions roadway connections to the site proposed from Chestnut Street north of Greer Avenue and an extension of Fir Street north of West First Avenue and Creekside Drive.
The towers, when fully built by 2030, are expected to be home for 10,000 to 12,000 people, but with fewer than 1,000 parking spots. That means demand for buses, taxicabs, carshare and rideshare services will skyrocket.
“The Senakw Lands are anticipated to generate 4,900 person trips during the AM peak hour. Transit trips could be between 1,200 and 1,700 during the peak hour, which equates to 10 to 14 additional articulated buses,” Morishita’s letter said.
Angry and frightened members of the public flooded Premier David Eby’s email inbox following last August’s controversial Cowichan Tribes court ruling, which recognized aboriginal title over hundreds of acres of private property in a part of Richmond.
Premier David Eby at the 2025 B.C. Cabinet and First Nations Leaders’ Gathering. (BC Gov/Flickr)
The B.C. government and the City of Richmond announced plans to appeal, but that was not enough to soothe citizens.
Public emails sent to the Premier about Justice Barbara Young’s decision were obtained by theBreaker.news under the freedom of information law, although the writers’ names were withheld to protect their privacy. The record shows 177 writers opposed the ruling and urged the Premier to appeal it, while just four supported it.
The opponents were evenly divided into two groups. The first were those writers, many insulting, who berated the very concept of any native land rights and warned of political ruin for the NDP.
The second, more-respectful group supported some aboriginal rights in principle, but feared that change was occurring too much, too fast, and with far too little public consultation.
First group fury
The most extreme critic wrote on Oct. 30, 2025:
“What the fuck did you think would happen with perpetual ‘reconciliation’? Let me be crystal clear for you. If you incompetent jackasses continue to shit the bed with the Indians and if my property is in ANY way threatened, either financially or through title, I (and millions like me) will repel that threat with EXTREME lethal force. This is literally a mountain I will die on.”
Others wrote:
Oct. 29: “Dear Premier Eby, I see you couldn’t muster the courage to face the good people of Richmond whose homes now sit on Cowichan lands thanks to the recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling. What did you think your endless land acknowledgments would result in? And in your utter hypocrisy now to get your AG to file an appeal of the ruling?
Cowichan Tribes-claimed land in Richmond, as seen from Deas Island. (Mackin)
Oct. 29: “You are an architect of this travesty yet could not bother to show up to the town hall meeting last night [Oct 28 in Richmond]. I can’t wait till the Musqueam lay claim to your home in Point Grey, you moron!”
Aug. 11: “Indigenous rights advocates are guilt tripping the government into submission and eroding all trust Canadians have in the system. I doubt that there is any genuine case behind their pursuit of ‘truth and reconciliation’ other than to siphon money into their own pockets.”
Aug. 11: “Stop bending the knee to these groups! They are playing the victim card way too hard and for way too long. I get that my email probably sounds pretty racist right now…. I love indigenous culture! It is the politics that have gotten everyone wound up.”
Nov. 2: “Who is going to buy land in Canada when stupid woke people have declared our land as retribution to Native people, who did nothing to earn it. I am not responsible for colonialism. My family had nothing to do with it. Mortgages are not getting renewed. You have started a civil war.”
Second group serenity
Aug. 12: “This is the first time I have ever written to a government representative. While I support meaningful reconciliation and fair treatment of Indigenous peoples, I’m worried this decision will create more division instead of bringing people together. Constant public messaging that paints non-Indigenous British Columbians as ‘unwelcome settlers’ or ‘colonizers’ does not encourage mutual respect or a shared future.
Aug. 12: “I’m also troubled by the message this sends to our children — that they are invaders in the land they call home. I believe this could damage their sense of belonging and weaken the unity we should be building.
*Aug. 10: “The basis premise of recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples is sound and admirable… Claims of indigenous land title should be vastly reduced coupled with monetary compensation, while complete recognition of their culture becomes an integral part of the B.C. and Canadian heritage. We should all operate under the same rules.”
Oct. 20: “I fully support the recognition and restoration of Indigenous rights and lands. These efforts are vital and long overdue. Yet I believe there must be a way to pursue justice and reconciliation without destabilizing individual homeowners who purchased their properties in good faith. There are vast areas of Crown land in Canada that could be respectfully and meaningfully exchanged to honour Indigenous claims while preserving the security of private citizens.”
Oct. 20: “I fully acknowledge that land was forcibly taken from Indigenous Peoples hundreds of years ago, and that historical wrongs cannot be ignored. However, repeating the act of dispossession today — by stripping citizens of their legally purchased land – does not address the injustices of the past. Instead, it risks creating new injustices and divisions at a time when our province should be striving for unity, progress, and practical solutions.”
Four support letters
Aug. 23: “I am very distressed to hear that the B.C. government is planning on appealing the Supreme Court of B.C.’s ruling in the Cowichan Tribes v. Canada. This is not an act of reconciliation. It is in fact a blatant act of colonial imperialism. You will not be able to count on my vote again unless you drop this appeal.
Aug. 23: “Political and court decisions that rule in favour of First Nation Peoples rights have been consistently and systematically ignored. Such an action would be expected, in my opinion, from the likes of John Rustad and his followers. My future support may have to go to a party that chooses to act on reconciliation rather than just talk about it.”
Aug. 28: “I am writing to you today as a resident of British Columbia to express my strong support for the B.C. government to honour and act upon the recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling. This landmark decision, which recognizes the Cowichan Tribes’ Aboriginal title and fishing rights, is a crucial step forward for justice and reconciliation in our province.”
Oct. 30: “The decision does not imperil the fee simple land rights of all British Columbians. Your government appears to be involved in fearmongering….. Simply put, the provincial government is required to compensate the Cowichan. Leaving people with the impression that these 150 or so land owners in Richmond are going to lose something as a result of this decision seems morally wrong. It pits the people of our province against Indigenous peoples in a harmful way.”
How Eby’s office responded to letters
“Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts following the City of Richmond’s information session. I understand how deeply concerning and uncertain this situation feels. The Province recognizes the significance of this court ruling and the impacts it may have on homeowners. We have appealed the decision and will be seeking a stay on the decision as well.
“Protection of private property rights is critically important. These steps are intended to ensure there is clarity and stability for affected property owners while the legal process unfolds and negotiations progress.
“We are also connecting directly with residents to listen, answer questions and provide up-to-date information as we move forward. Your feedback helps us understand the real-world impacts and ensure your concerns and issues are addressed.”
The B.C. government and B.C. Lottery Corporation (BCLC) have been added as defendants to a B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit by a former Richmond immigration and real estate lawyer who worked in the Chinese government.
In July 2016, Hong Guo sued her firm’s ex-employees Jeff Zixin Li and Danica Qian Pan. Guo said they “conspired to misappropriate” more than $6.6 million from her trust account at CIBC and opened accounts with Gateway Casino between February and April 2016.
Guo claimed the Richmond RCMP never properly investigated her complaint. So she worked with Chinese authorities to investigate Li and Pan. In early 2024, she released Chinese court documents that said Li and Pan were sentenced to jail terms of 13 and 15 years, respectively.
Richmond lawyer Hong Guo announced her run for Mayor of Richmond last June.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Anita Chan said in a May 1 ruling that it is “just and convenient” to add the Province and BCLC as defendants to the existing action. Guo has shown there is a claim for unjust enrichment against the Province and BCLC “that is not frivolous.”
“BCLC has already provided document disclosure,” Chan said. “It is unlikely the Province will have many relevant documents to disclose. No party has conducted any examinations for discovery. Joining the proposed defendants now would not add further delay. Trial dates have been set for June 2027.”
Chan also ordered Guo and Guo Law Corp. to post $150,000 as security for costs within 30 days. If not, the defendants can apply for dismissal of the action.
“I acknowledge the delay is extensive and the explanation offered by the plaintiffs is not completely satisfactory,” Chan wrote. “However, I do not find the delay was strategic. I do not find the plaintiffs intentionally delayed. The evidence on this application shows the delay was likely caused by Ms. Guo’s difficult personal and professional circumstances over the last 10 years and a lack of attention to the action.”
Law Society intervention
Guo originally came to Canada from China in 1993 and studied law at the University of Windsor. She returned to China, worked in the State Council in China’s Communist Party government and was called to the B.C. bar in 2009.
Guo built a busy law firm in Richmond, where she decided in 2018 to run for mayor. She finished fourth.
Prior to election day, she denied that China had committed human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and journalists, among others.
After several years of disciplinary proceedings, the Law Society of B.C. (LSBC) decided in 2023 that Guo was “ungovernable” and could no longer practice law because of a “lengthy, serious and highly aggravating” record of professional misconduct, including breach of trust accounting rules, conflict of interest, misrepresentations, misappropriation and mishandling of trust funds and breach of LSBC orders.
Chan adjourned applications from CIBC, BMO and Gateway Casinos to stay the action due to Guo’s contempt proceeding.
Gateway Casinos’ Starlight Casino in Queensborough. (Starlight)
Guo’s return
Guo left for China in October 2023 and her son told a judge that her mental health was suffering.
In May 2024, Justice Gordon Weatherill issued an arrest warrant after she repeatedly failed to comply with disclosure orders.
Chan’s ruling said that order was set aside. Guo was allowed to give her passport to her lawyer when she arrived at Vancouver International Airport. Shen then appeared in front of Weatherill on Dec. 15, 2025. His 40-day sentence was stayed for a year.
“However,” Chan wrote, “the court noted that it was not making a finding that the contempt was purged. Her counsel advises this court that he plans to go before [Justice] Weatherill to ask what more Ms. Guo needs to do to purge her contempt.”
A special edition from inside and outside the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, six weeks ahead of the biggest World Cup in history.
Featuring interviews with Canada’s Secretary for Sport, Adam van Koeverden, Canadian Soccer Association president Peter Augruso and one of the Southsiders campaigning to keep the Whitecaps in Vancouver, Andrew Chobaniuk.
Plus, highlights of the meeting in the Vancouver Convention Centre, featuring FIFA president Gianni Infantino, vice-president Victor Montagliani, secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom, and executives from the Israeli and Palestinian football associations.
“Today, Vancouver is definitely the capital of the world,” declared FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the start of the 76th FIFA Congress. “Because the entire world convened here in Vancouver.”
Except for Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation’s top three officials — one of whom is an ex-Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander — were absent from the Vancouver Convention Centre after being denied entry to Canada at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. IRGC is a designated terrorist entity in Canada, but the Canadian government granted Mehdi Taj a temporary permit anyway.
Gianni Infantino (front left) and Mattias Grafstrom at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, with the World Cup trophy. (FIFA)
FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafstrom conducted the roll call at the April 30 meeting in Vancouver, one of 16 World Cup cities.
“Welcome to a world tour,” said the Swede, before naming every one of the 211 member countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe over 12 minutes.
Iran’s absence meant the total present was 210.
The meeting was the biggest international sport conference in Vancouver since the 2010 Winter Olympics brought the International Olympic Committee’s 122nd session.
The IOC has 206 member nations.
By comparison, it took about four minutes for a video listing names of those who passed away since the last FIFA Congress.
It included the “Victims of the tragic collapse of a balustrade at the 5 July 1962 Stadium in Algiers, Algeria.”
The last entry was: “Victims of armed conflicts globally.”
Iran will play
Infantino declared that “Iran will be participating at FIFA World Cup 2026, and of course Iran will play in the United States of America.”
One of those matches is June 26 in Seattle, against Egypt.
Despite the wishes of Donald Trump, the Infantino-decorated, FIFA Peace Prize laureate who, along with Israel, declared war against Iran on Feb. 28.
“We have to remember, always, that we have to be positive, we have to be smiling we have to be happy,” Infantino said. “There are enough problems around the world, there are enough people who try to divide all over the world. If nobody tries to unite, what will happen in the world?”
Inside the Vancouver Convention Centre on April 30, site of the 76th FIFA Congress. (Mackin)
Also for 12 minutes
FIFA vice-president/CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, the wealthy West Vancouver former insurance executive, spoke of his humble beginnings during a welcoming speech.
“Just a few kilometres from here in East Vancouver, as a five-year-old boy, I first kicked the football at a club called Grandview Legion. I grew up surrounded by the game here on local parks, on pitches, in clubhouses and in the streets where football meant identity, belonging and pride. My teammates back then came from across North and Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, South America, Oceania and Africa. Yes, all six of our FIFA Confederations. Different languages, different cultures, but one game. Those are not distant memories. It is part of me, part of my life’s journey. They shaped how I see our sport, not just as something we play or watch, but as something that connects people across cultures, across generations and across borders. That is why this moment here, in my beloved city of Vancouver, means so much.”
At the end of the agenda, president-since-2016 Infantino announced his 2027 re-election bid to polite, but not enthusiastic, applause.
Could Montagliani’s speech have been the start of his campaign for the top job?
Ticketed-off
Infantino and Montagliani left without talking to reporters.
Grafstrom stayed for a few minutes. He was asked about the dominant controversy of the World Cup: FIFA’s high ticket pricing.
“I think there are, you know, a wide array of ticket prices,” Grafstrom said. “And some are cheap, some are more expensive. It’s also the reality of the market in North America.”
The legacy, he said “is also what we will be able to do with the money that is generated from this World Cup in 211 countries.”
Timing is everything
The Congress ran four hours, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
FIFA had the venue booked all day, but lunch beckoned.
FIFA put its technical experts — global football development head Arsene Wenger, chief football officer Jill Ellis and referees committee chair Pierluigi Collina — on stage for speeches. But not the finance and compliance experts — including CFO Thomas Peyer. They gave their reports by pre-recorded video, after coffee break.
FIFA projects US$14 billion revenue in the next four-year cycle, beginning in 2027.
The next in-person congress is next year in Rabat, Morocco, co-host of the 2030 World Cup.
The Canadian government was represented by Adam van Koeverden, the secretary of state for sport. British Columbia’s tourism and sport minister Anne Kang and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim were also in attendance.
B.C. Premier David Eby was not.
No handshake
The day climaxed when Infantino’s attempt to be peacemaker flopped.
Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub spoke in English. Then Israel Football Association vice-president Basim Sheikh Suliman in Arabic.
Infantino brought them back on stage and tried coaxing them to shake hands. It was an awkward standoff, as they stood several metres apart. Rajoub, wearing a keffiyeh, loudly objected.
The former militant, jailed in 1970 for throwing a grenade at Israeli soldiers, has campaigned for FIFA to ban Israel outright.
“You should never forget something,” Infantino said. “Your two federations have the same rights, the right to organize football in your respective territories, the right to represent your countries on the international stage and the right and duty to instil in your children a love of football and respect for one another.”
What they said
FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafstrom (Mackin)
Afterward Rajoub made a bee-line to reporters.
“Could I shake hands with someone representing a fascist and racist government and defending even the policies of this government? I don’t think that I have to shake hands, I don’t think that he’s a qualified partner to me. While I understand, I recognize that the Israeli Federation has the right to organize, develop a sport, but within their international recognized borders. Was he ready to say that for the Palestinians?”
FIFA banned Rajoub for a year in 2018 after he urged fans to protest Argentina’s friendly in Israel by burning Lionel Messi jerseys.
FIFA’s March fine against Israel for racism by supporters of Premier League team Beitar Jerusalem wasn’t strong enough, so Rajoub has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Suliman did not come to reporters, but the Israel association’s CEO Yariv Teper did.
“Our mission is to show the world that we can do it in a different way. And I think where our vice-president stood there, and the president of FIFA asked for both sides to come to the fore together —the way I see it, it was a missing opportunity in order to show something else for the world. We will be happy to any initiative to do a joint venture with the Palestinian Authority. We always were. It was always there from our side.”
Protests outside
The Southsiders came to rally in support of the Vancouver Whitecaps. (Mackin)
Up and at ‘em early: The Southsiders brought their Save the Caps campaign to the front door of the Vancouver Convention Centre as Congress delegates streamed in. One of the guests happened to be Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber.
As the Congress happened, news broke confirming a Kentucky horse racing tycoon’s bid to move the Whitecaps to Las Vegas.
Later, supporters of Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah, gathered. While they applauded the Islamic regime’s absence, they want FIFA to kick the federation out entirely.
In the afternoon, an anti-Israel protest, co-organized by Dave Diewert, one of the directors of Samidoun, a group on the Canada and U.S. terrorist list.
Also, UNITE HERE Local 40 hotel workers and the International Animal Coalition: IAWPC, Animal Save Movement, In Defense of Animals, SPCA International, Stray Dog Support and Lady Freethinker.
They dressed in Moroccan jerseys and staged a die-in to protest the mass-cull of dogs in the next World Cup co-host.
Police from Abbotsford, the B.C. RCMP and New Westminster joined Vancouver Police to secure the FIFA Congress at the Vancouver Convention Centre on April 30. (Mackin)
Keeping an eye on it all
Police from Vancouver, New Westminster, Abbotsford and the RCMP.
They protected entrances to FIFA host hotels (Pan Pacific and Fairmont Pacific Rim) and the convention centre. In the air, a drone. In the water, RCMP and Royal Canadian Navy vessels.
B.C. RCMP Asst. Comm. John Brewer told this reporter last October that it would be a “security event.”
More to come from the 76th FIFA Congress on this week’s edition of thePodcast.
For the second time in Canada, the FIFA Congress is April 30 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Previously, 50 years ago in Montreal during the 1976 Olympics. Halfway between World Cups in Germany and Argentina.
This edition is the first event of North America’s World Cup festival. Some 1,600 delegates from 211 member nations and territories at the annual soccer governance meeting.
Inside the Vancouver Convention Centre, host of the 76th FIFA Congress. (Mackin)
A few words about Vancouver
For newcomers, welcome and behold the North Shore peaks and their melting snow.
At sea level, look closely, you might see a whale. Beyond the yellow sulphur pyramids, the twin “cans” of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant. Should’ve cost $700 million and opened in 2020, but it’s on the way to $4 billion in 2030. The politicians in power are in no hurry to assign blame.
The FIFA Congress is a “security event,” according to the B.C. RCMP’s assistant commissioner, John Brewer. Expect street closures around the convention centre and police motorcades hither and yon. But there is no dedicated police force at Canada’s biggest port. Disbanded in 1997 and never replaced.
A city known for high-priced real estate, casinos (there is even one beside World Cup stadium B.C. Place called Parq) and fentanyl. Australian criminologist John Langdalecoined the term “Vancouver Model.”
Speaking of Parq Casino, the group that tried to stop it was called Vancouver, Not Vegas. Fans of Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps are adopting that as their rallying cry, hoping, before it’s too late, that someone local buys out media-shy owner Greg Kerfoot and/or strikes a deal with the NDP government that runs the stadium. Otherwise, the club could move to Sin City.
Now, about FIFA
When the Women’s Under-19 World Championship came to neighbouring Burnaby in 2002, Sepp Blatter (remember him?) took time out for a helicopter ride to real estate developer Jack Poole’s Mission ranch for a barbecue.
Poole headed the successful bid for Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics.
Four years later, Trinidad and Tobago’s smooth-talking Jack Warner came to inspect Swangard Stadium ahead of the men’s 2007 Under-20 World Cup.
CONCACAF president Warner had a lot to say when this reporter crossed the pitch with him. He downplayed the investigation into his ticket scalping, dismissed players on his country’s national team as “greedy” for seeking fair pay and commended the Canadian Soccer Association for suspending three women’s national team players in a dispute with management.
“You must always do what is right, not what is popular,” Warner said, while standing by mildly amused Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan.
Blatter returned to Vancouver in 2010. So did his predecessor, Joao Havelange, the most-senior member at the International Olympic Committee’s meetings in the Westin Bayshore.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and sport minister Vitaly Mutko were there. So was the future Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall!
Before the end of the year, Blatter shocked the world of sport by naming Russia the 2018 host and Qatar for 2022.
Two years later, CONCACAF brought the London 2012 women’s qualifying tournament to B.C. Place — the eight-night, eight-nation event drew more than 97,000.
Chuck Blazer (centre) at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying final in B.C. Place Stadium. (Canada Soccer)
FIFA held a conference at the Sheraton Wall Centre about the previous year’s Women’s World Cup in Germany.
The top FIFA official this time? New York-based, executive committee member Chuck Blazer. The larger-than-life Trump Tower-dweller turned whistleblower.
Because of him, Warner quit to avoid an investigation into buying votes to support Qatari Mohamed Bin Hammam’s bid to unseat Blatter.
“My role in that was like the ring of a bell,” Blazer told this reporter “People recognize there are sanctions that will be meted out if they violate those rules. It was a very good example of how it works.”
The world later learned he was an FBI informant who wore a wiretap to collect evidence.
The tournament, however, was overshadowed by the murder in the host hotel’s lobby restaurant of gangster Sandip Duhre. One of the three men convicted was Rabih Alkhalil, the 2022 jail escapee arrested last year in Qatar.
Sepp Blatter sent a video greeting to a FIFA meeting in Vancouver during the 2015 Women’s World Cup. (Mackin)
The biggest pre-2026 FIFA event in the city: the Canada 2015 Women’s World Cup.
They even built an office for Blatter at B.C. Place. Alas, he never used it.
Blatter did not travel, for fear of arrest, after the corruption crackdown against seven FIFA officials during the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich on May 27.
FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 chair Victor Montagliani. (Mackin)
Blatter sent a video greeting to the FIFA meetings in Vancouver. African soccer boss Issa Hayatou awarded the trophy to the victorious Americans at the B.C. Place final, the climax of a tournament held, controversially, on artificial turf.
In 2016, the FIFA shakeup thrust the man who chaired the organizing committee, Victor Montagliani, into a new role as CONCACAF’s president and a FIFA vice-president. Montagliani positioned himself as a reformer. During this World Cup cycle, Montagliani is the right-hand man to president Gianni Infantino.
An insurance executive from working class Burnaby who played futsal for Canada, Montagliani enjoyed a $3 million-a-year salary in 2024. He resides in a $6.2 million mansion in West Vancouver’s posh West Bay.
The VPD is expecting protests. Host city security lead Dave Jones, former chief of the New Westminster and Transit Police forces, said they are also planning for fan marches.
“The city may make decisions in relation to the traffic impacts of the project, but I cannot see how disclosure of the specific information in the records will allow the public to hold the city accountable for its decisions in that respect.”
Four years later, Trinidad and Tobago’s smooth-talking Jack Warner came to inspect Swangard Stadium ahead of the men’s 2007 Under-20 World Cup.
