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Bob Mackin

Officials say a Russian figure skater entered in a regional meet in Burnaby has the blessing of both Canadian and Russian governing bodies.

Russian skater Uliana Shiryaeva, on the top podium in March (Instagram)

Uliana Shiryaeva is one of the 10 skaters scheduled to compete in the senior women’s short program at the 2022 Belair Direct B.C./Yukon Section SummerSkate Super Series Aug. 18-21 at the Scotia Barn.

Shiryaeva turned 15-years-old in June and is affiliated with the Army of Figure Skating SC in Moscow. Except for Cheuk Ka Kahlen Cheung of the Hong Kong Skating Union, the rest of the skaters in the division are attached to Canadian clubs. 

Mike Slipchuk, high performance director for Skate Canada, said the International Skating Union ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes applies only to international competitions. 

“As Uliana and her family have moved to Canada and is in the process of being released from Russia, she has been given permission to compete in this local domestic event,” Slipchuk said. 

Slipchuk said she moved to B.C. earlier this year. He declined a request to interview Shiryaeva, her coach or her parents.

The ISU ban came a week after Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. The war began just four days after the close of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and eight days before the opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics, during a period that is covered by the symbolic Olympic truce.

Russian skater Uliana Shiryaeva in Montenegro in July (Instagram)

Ted Barton, the executive director of Skate Canada’s B.C. and Yukon region, said Shiryaeva requested a release from Russia, but it won’t be decided until the end of the year. 

“This release request has been sent by Skate Canada and Russia will be reviewing it in December. During this transition period her club in Moscow has granted her permission to compete in non-qualifying events till the release is completed.”

Shiryaeva’s Instagram does not show any images of her in Canada. The most-recent photographs published July 23 show her posing beside a highway in Montenegro. 

The Canadian sports law professor who concluded Russia committed state-sponsored doping at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics said in an interview earlier this week with a German publication that bans on Russian and Belarusian athletes are too harsh.

”The athletes did not start this conflict and are not responsible for its course,” Richard McLaren told Sportschau. 

He said athletes could find their way back to international competitions via appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. 

“If the CAS decides in favour of the athletes, the associations would be forced to let them compete again,” McLaren said.

Ukraine’s Minister of Youth and Sport Vadym Guttsait urged international sports organizations to keep the bans. In an open letter to a French sports website, FrancsJeux.com, he wrote that more than 3,000 Ukrainian athletes went to war, more than 100 have died and the Russian military destroyed 111 sports facilities.

Vladimir Putin (left) and Xi Jinping during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics (PRC)

The IOC has not disciplined the Russian or Belarusian Olympic committee or any of their officials. Several Russian cross-country skiing, figure skating, gymnastics and swimming medalists appeared with Putin at a Moscow stadium rally almost a month after the war began. The event marked the eight anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region, after Sochi 2014. 

In June, the ISU raised the minimum age for professional competitions from 15 to 17 by the next Olympics in Italy in 2026. Russian Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old gold medal favourite, was allowed to compete at Beijing 2022 despite a positive doping test. She finished fourth. 

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Bob Mackin Officials say a Russian figure skater

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The Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer, who pleaded guilty in a New York court on Aug. 18, had ties to the former Trump International Hotel and Tower in Vancouver. 

Allen Weisselberg began working for Donald Trump since 1973 and was charged in July 2021 over a 15-year tax fraud scheme. He admitted paying no taxes on US$1.76 million income, expenses and benefits. Under the plea bargain, he is required to repay US$2 million in taxes, interest and penalties, spend five months in jail and five years on probation.

Allen Weisselberg

Weisselberg is also expected to testify in court against two Trump companies during a trial beginning in late October.

In Trump’s first disclosure of his presidency, he told the United States Office of Government Ethics that there were four holding companies associated with the hotel in the 63-storey, Arthur Erickson-designed skyscraper on West Georgia: DT Marks Vancouver LP, DT Marks Vancouver Manager Corp., THC Vancouver Management Corp., and THC Vancouver Payroll ULC. 

DT Marks Vancouver LP earned over $5 million in income from a hotel licensing deal, while THC Vancouver Management Corp. earned Trump only $21,576. 

The hotel was built and operated by a subsidiary of Malaysian-owned TA Global Berhad, but THC Vancouver Payroll ULC was the only one of the companies registered in British Columbia.

It incorporated in February 2015 with Donald Trump the sole director and the records office is the Owen Bird law firm. By February 2016, directors also included Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger, Trump Organization senior vice-president Rhona Graff-Riccio, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Weisselberg. 

Donald Trump Jr. (left) and brother Eric at the Vancouver Trump Hotel opening (Mackin)

Danziger, Trump Jr., brother Eric and sister Tiffany were part of the entourage that opened the hotel in February 2017.

Donald Trump ceased to be a director of the B.C. company the day before his January 2017 presidential inauguration, leaving Donald Trump Jr. and Weisselberg on the registry.

Weisselberg’s name was removed on June 25, 2021, the week before the indictment against him and the Trump Organization and Trump Payroll Corp. was unsealed. 

In 2020, the hotel’s operator, TA Hotel Management Partnership Ltd., filed for bankruptcy. It reopened last spring as the rebranded Paradox Hotel. 

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Bob Mackin The Trump Organization’s former chief financial

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Hiring, promotion and pay were among the major concerns of BC Hydro employees who responded to a staff survey last year. 

A briefing note to the March 29 meeting of senior executives, obtained under freedom of information, said the 2021 employee engagement survey elicited approximately 7,500 comments, including more than 1,300 about compensation and benefits.

BC Hydro COO Chris O’Riley (BC Hydro)

Among the lowest scoring questions on the survey, at 57%, was one asking whether total compensation, benefits and pension were fair for the work performed. 

“Employees predominantly noted concerns related to keeping up with inflation, housing market and what other employers are offering,” said the briefing note’s analysis. 

There were 760 negative comments logged, of which 300 were related to higher compensation and the salary freeze for management and professional employees. 

Fair hiring was the top concern of employees who self-identify as a visible minority. 

“Comments and suggestions were related to preference for selections to be based on qualifications and performance, not solely on interview scores,” said the briefing note. 

Management and professional employees, members of the MoveUP union, workers with 11-20 years of service and visible minorities were concerned about transparency in promotion.  

“Comments were related to limited opportunities for promotions, and unclear promotion criteria and process. Performance and pay were the second most common concern. This was a concern for employees who are 35 to 54 years of age, and employees who self-identified as a visible minority.”

BC Hydro headquarters (BC Hydro)

Employees also complained about work piling up due to supply chain application systems taking more time. Support and training lagged due to the pandemic and unexpected leaves for key procurement personnel. 

“Comments about contractors and consultants were copious, specifically about the usage and performance of contractors and consultants.”

There were also numerous complains about the Hydroweb internal system. “Specific suggestions included a better search engine that would return more relevant results. Broken links and outdated information were also mentioned.”

The survey analysis said the Hydroweb team within the communications department is “small and doesn’t have the resources to manage search as a platform-wide improvement,” but there would be initiatives aimed at spurring groups responsible for the pages to improve outdated content and poor search results.

Meanwhile, under the heading of flexible work model, employees wanted to continue full-time work from home beyond the pandemic. 

“There were significantly more positive comments than negative comments. Top positive sentiments were related to flexibility and ability to work from home, as well as work-life balance. Most common negative sentiments were related to the desire for more flexibility in terms of days in office, work hours, location, and working from home permanently.”

The inclusion and diversity portion of the survey found men were significantly less-favourable than women to the questions about expressing opinions (9% differential), recommending BC Hydro as a great place to work (8% differential), and seeing positive changes in the last six months (10% differential). 

The small sample of non-binary employees found favourable scores “frequently 20 percentage points lower than other genders,” especially to questions about whether managers create an atmosphere of trust and respect. 

Indigenous employees felt more comfortable than non-Indigenous employees in

speaking up and were confident they could talk to someone about disrespectful behaviour. Employees with disabilities had lower favourable responses than both BC Hydro overall and employees without disabilities across all the questions.

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Bob Mackin Hiring, promotion and pay were among

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A Surrey Police Service officer hired in May was arrested Aug. 16 by the Surrey RCMP for breach of trust.

Surrey Police Chief Norm Lipinski.

Surrey Police Chief Norm Lipinski, who did not name the officer, confirmed that the officer was released on conditions, pending further investigation. 

“The SPS officer is facing a charge for an alleged breach of trust, however the charge has not yet been approved by B.C. Prosecution Service,” said a statement from Lipinski. “SPS has notified the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner about the incident.”

The statement said the officer was hired by SPS with just over one year of policing experience. 

Lipinski announced he had suspended the officer with pay, pending outcome of the Surrey RCMP probe. He did not release the officer’s name. 

Surrey RCMP said it “became aware of some information that resulted” in an investigation.

“That investigation is active and ongoing,” said the Surrey RCMP statement. “SPS were notified and initiated their internal processes related to conduct. We are not able to provide any further information at this time.”

SPS was established after Doug McCallum won the mayoralty in the 2018 election and is expected to be an issue in the Oct. 15 election. Coun. Brenda Locke, one of four challengers to McCallum for the job, has promised to scrap the transition. 

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner said the Vancouver Police Department has been assigned to investigate the officer’s conduct under the Police Act. Deputy Police Complaint Commissioner Andrea Spindler said the Surrey Police Service contacted her office about the case. 

“As there is an active criminal investigation underway, the OPCC is unable to provide further details,” Spindler said.

In June, the B.C. Prosecution Service announced charges of breach of trust and fraud against Surrey RCMP Cpl. Peter Leckie for offences from 2014 to 2020. He is accused of obtaining information from police databases about women for the purpose of engaging in intimate relationships. 

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Bob Mackin A Surrey Police Service officer hired

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Vancouver city hall’s landmark agreement to enable construction and provide civic utilities to Westbank Development’s 11-tower condo project on Squamish Nation reserve land around the Burrard Bridge is 250 pages long.

But a government information watchdog said it was published in back-of-the-napkin fashion.

(City of Vancouver)

Vancouver city hall’s communications department sent two advisories before and one after Mayor Kennedy Stewart signed the agreement May 25 with Squamish Nation council chair Dustin Rivers, aka Khelsilem. The city’s freedom of information office told a reporter in early July to file another request in mid-August. Then the communications department quietly published the agreement the day after the summer’s last city council meeting, on the Friday of the B.C. Day long weekend.

“It’s important that when a government at any level starts working in these types of things, that they are appropriately transparent, and they’re not making it up as they go along,” said Jason Woywada, the executive director of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association. 

“When a public institution can’t undertake routine business in a routine way, that’s where questions start coming up, that’s where trust starts being eroded. Even more tricky when you start getting into elements of reconciliation, appropriate negotiations and the nation-to-nation relationship.”

Architect’s rendering of the proposed Westbank development on Squamish Nation land near the Burrard Bridge (Senakw.com)

Squamish Nation members agreed to a 50-50 partnership in 2019 with Ian Gillespie’s Westbank Development, which is planning to build up to 6,000 rental units in four phases on Kitsilano Indian Reserve land known as Senakw. By 2029, up to 10,000 people could be living on the 4.7 hectares regained through court settlements.

The heart of the deal is the 40-page contract that spells out how Senakw will connect to the city’s water and storm sewers, sidewalks, roads, bike lanes and public transit. Because it is on reserve land, under the auspices of federal departments, the city’s normal permitting, taxation and user fee collection powers do not apply. The Nation agreed to pay in full for service delivery and lifecycle costs and reimburse the city for costs it incurs.

City hall agreed to notify the Squamish Nation on area work that could impact the construction site, “but that does not fetter in any way city council and the city engineer’s legal rights and duties to manage city streets in the public interest.” Likewise, the Squamish Nation must regularly update the city with its design and construction schedule.

An appendix lists $48.43 million of costs estimated for 15 street, bike lane, sewer and seawall projects, mostly paid by the Nation. Of that, $15 million is the estimate for the Squamish Nation to build a transit hub on the Burrard Bridge. 

The agreement was not proactively released, so a freedom of information request filed May 25 led to a July 6 denial letter from city hall’s director of access and privacy. 

“Our office has been informed that the agreement is still in draft form and not yet finalized,” wrote Coby Falconer. “In order to ensure we can meet the required statutory deadlines, please re-submit your request for the above records in 30 business days, or once the signing of the agreement has been announced.”

When the contract and appendices were released, the title page stated it was the “final execution version for May 25, 2022 effective date.”

Angela MacKenzie, city hall’s associate director of civic engagement and communications, said  the Squamish Nation took the lead on communications and the city hall FOI office was likely not aware of the exact timing of the release. 

Ian Gillespie (left) shows Justin Trudeau a coffee table book (Westbank/Facebook)

“When the Nation released the full agreement on their website on July 29, they asked to take the lead on sharing this with media and the public,” MacKenzie said. “The city supported this by creating a corresponding webpage, which was also made public on July 29.”

Rivers did not respond for comment.

Regardless of who city hall contracts with, it must follow the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. In a 2016 audit, then-Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham found 12th and Cambie was discriminating against media applicants and failing to meet its legal obligation to respond without delay, and process all applications openly, accurately and completely. 

Senakw is officially a partnership between Westbank and the Squamish Nation’s Nch’kay Corporation. The North Vancouver-headquartered band’s economic development branch is chaired by Tewanee Joseph, the Indigenous partnerships advisor to the Canadian Olympic Committee’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics. Other Nch’kay directors include Mike Magee, who was chief of staff to former Mayor Gregor Robertson, BC Ferries chair Joy MacPhail and Kristen Rivers, a Squamish Nation councillor running for Park Board with OneCity in the Oct. 15 civic election. 

An Ernst and Young report commissioned for the project and provided to Squamish Nation members in 2019 estimated Senakw could generate as much as $12.7 billion in cashflow.  Westbank is famous for building luxury downtown towers, like the Shaw Tower, Fairmont Pacific Rim, Shangri-La and Telus Garden, and marketing condos for sale in Hong Kong and Singapore. Its latest construction project is the redevelopment of Oakridge Centre for 2,600 units in 10 buildings. 

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Aug. 15 was the latest milestone in Vancouver’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics. 

That is when NDP Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Minister Melanie Mark received a mini business plan from the Canadian Olympic Committee.

B.C. Sport Minister Melanie Mark (BC Gov)

Mark saved the date as the deadline for COC president Tricia Smith to make the case not only for provincial funding, but for the province to assume deficit liability, just like it did for Vancouver 2010. In a June 24 letter, Mark asked Smith, who is collaborating with the Four Host First Nations, to explain whether Vancouver, Whistler and the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-waututh and Lil’wat would share costs and risks. The COC had already been planning to make formal proposals to B.C. and federal treasury boards in October.

“Consideration of hosting major international sporting events requires significant time and resources by all parties,” said Mark’s letter. “The experience in preparing for the 2010 Games, the magnitude of an Olympic and Paralympic Games is very large and complex, and requires careful consideration by all levels of government and host First Nations. As you will appreciate, our environment has changed since 2010, particularly in relation to the risks and challenges created by pandemics, evolving domestic and international security threats, and the effect of global climate change.”

The COC’s July 8-published financial estimates suggest the 2030 Winter Games would need more than $1 billion from taxpayers, including $299 million to $375 million to renovate or retrofit venues, $165 million to $267 million for Olympic villages, and $560 million to $583 million for security. The great unknown is essential services, such as waste collection, ambulances and paramedics, emergency planning, airports and border control.

COC hired construction consultant BTY Group to estimate the venues and villages costs. Michael Gabert, BTY’s director of cost management services, said the company responded to the COC’s call for qualifications in March and produced an initial report in April. 

Estimates were based on interviews with venue operators, but not site visits.

Michael Gabert (left) and Rob Wilson of BTY Group (BTY)

“We were provided with budgets and scope from the venue operators and owners, and we went through a series of meetings with them to review the information that they had available to look at the scope, look how they develop their costing,” Gabert said in an interview. “And then we provided our own opinion on the capital costing for it.”

Gabert said each venue operator provided a breakdown for maintenance, renewal and potential upgrades, such as a new HVAC system, structural upgrades or major modifications. Some venue operators had more detail than others. BTY also advised on allowances for soft costs, project management for design and engineering and contingencies. 

“We haven’t gone into kind of any specific detail about what specific design or what specific structural items we would need to be considered,” added Rob Wilson, BTY’s director of project monitoring and lender services. “From a conceptual and a high level that will evolve, as quantity surveying always does, when more details are received.”

The COC-released report said the venue estimates include up to 45% built-in for design, construction and other contingencies and inflation. The estimates for athletes’ villages in Whistler, Sun Peaks and Vancouver are proposed lump sum payments to developers for Games-time use. The Vancouver Olympic Village is proposed for the Jericho Lands, part-owned by the MST Development partnership of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-waututh.

Gabert declined to comment on individual venue estimates, but agreed there would be more work needed to bring an older building to code and readiness for 2030. The 1963-opened Agrodome and 1968-opened Coliseum are the oldest indoor venues proposed for 2030, while the 2008-opened Richmond Olympic Oval would require retrofitting to accept a long-track speedskating oval again. Neither Vancouver nor Richmond have published cost estimates.

What next? 

If the B.C. and federal governments approve financial support and the COC proceeds to making a formal bid book for the IOC by year-end, then Gabert said detailed engineering studies would be required for each venue to develop more-accurate pricing.

PNE Agrodome (Mackin)

“You can start to quantify in a more detailed basis, the amount of work that’s required, you can drill down further into what specific materials or equipment are required and start sourcing pricing directly for those items that you know are going to be needed,” he said. 

On July 20, Vancouver city council rejected holding a bid plebiscite during the Oct. 15 civic election, but opted to carry on exploring a bid against 2002 host Salt Lake City and 1972 host Sapporo, Japan. The International Olympic Committee wants to decide by the end of May 2023 at its annual meeting in Mumbai.

On Aug. 9, Mayor Kennedy Stewart wrote to Mark and Federal Sport Minister Pascal St-Onge to ask whether the senior governments would fund a 2030 bid. 

Council directed staff on July 20 to move forward in negotiating multiparty agreements, after Deputy City Manager Karen Levitt had warned there was not enough time and too many questions about costs and risks for an already burdened bureaucracy at 12th and Cambie.

The 2010 Games are believed to have cost $8 billion, all-in. The true costs are unknown, because the Auditor General never did a post-Games study, the organizing committee was not subject to the freedom of information law and its board minutes and financial files won’t be open to the public at the City Archives until fall 2025.

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Bob Mackin Aug. 15 was the latest milestone

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The union representing B.C.’s 33,000 government workers is targeting one of the biggest government revenue generators in its first strike action.

BCGEU logo

B.C. General Employees’ Union announced Aug. 12 afternoon that it would be in a legal position to strike at 2:46 p.m. on Aug. 15. The union waited until Monday morning to announce its first round of picket lines. 

Picket lines went up at B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch wholesale and distribution warehouses at 3:30 p.m. in Delta, Kamloops and Richmond and the Victoria wholesale customer centre. While the Burnaby wholesale customer centre and cannabis customer care centre are included in the job action, there will be no picket line.

“Retail liquor and cannabis stores will not be part of this phase of job action,” said the news release.

Restaurants, bars and privately owned liquor stores are bracing for impact. Ian Tostenson of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association said he would be able to comment “once we understand the contingency LDB plan.”

The most-recent BCGEU contract expired April 1. Negotiations began Feb. 8, but reached an impasse on April 6. Members voted 95% to strike in a tally announced June 22. 

There was no progress when the two sides met in July and an attempt to resurrect talks last week failed. The union had until Sept. 20 to serve strike notice.

The union rejected a nearly 11% increase over three years plus up to $2,500 per member signing bonus offered by the government. Its key demand is for a cost of living adjustment clause to keep up with inflation. When talks began in February, inflation was 5.7%. It hit a 40-year high of 8.1% in May.

BCGEU is a fraction of the 400,000 public sector workers whose contracts have expired or will expire this year. The outcome of the BCGEU dispute is expected to influence all other contracts. Every 1% increase in total compensation across B.C.’s public sector costs taxpayers $311 million.

Anjali Appadurai, a challenger to NDP leadership frontrunner David Eby, threw her support behind the BCGEU on Twitter Aug. 12.

“Our province benefits from a strong public sector that provides workers with safe workplaces, secure jobs, and good wages to help make ends meet,” she wrote. “My solidarity is with BC’s public service workers. I’ll see you on the picket line.”

Appadurai, a registered lobbyist with the David Suzuki Institute’s Climate Emergency Unit, formally launches her campaign in Vancouver today. 

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Bob Mackin The union representing B.C.’s 33,000 government

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Different name, same face. 

The Vancouver chapter of Extinction Rebellion has spawned another protest sub-brand that disrupted traffic Aug. 15 for an anti-shale gas march from Vancouver city hall to the CBC studios, via the Cambie Bridge.

Muhammad Zain Ul-Haq resurfaced as a central organizer of Stop Fracking Around (Instagram)

The central coordinator of Stop Fracking Around (SFA) is Muhammad Zain Ul-Haq, the Save Old Growth (SOG) co-founder. The 21-year-old Pakistani Simon Fraser University student was detained by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in June for allegedly violating terms of his student visa. Haq was freed after a closed-door Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) hearing on June 23, but neither IRB nor CBSA will comment on the outcome.

SOG has failed to convince the NDP government to stop old growth logging. SFA pledges to disrupt infrastructure and tourism sites until Vancouver city council bans residential use of shale gas by 2025. SFA/SOG member Sophie Papp was arrested Aug. 10 for pouring molasses on the Gastown Steam Clock.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge sentenced Haq in February to 14 days in jail for contempt of court after blocking Trans Mountain Pipeline construction. The judge’s verdict said he was also national action and strategy coordinator for Extinction Rebellion. The court database shows Haq is scheduled for trials on mischief charges in November, January and February.

SOG’s website says the group receives most of its funding for recruitment, training, capacity building and education from the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF), a California-based charity whose board includes an heiress to the Getty oil fortune. The New York Times reported SOG has received US$170,000 in grants from CEF, which was co-founded by Trevor Neilson, chairman of natural gas-from-trash and agricultural waste marketer WasteFuel.

Haq did not respond for comment. 

Haq is one of five people listed on the Jan. 27 federal incorporation for Eco-Mobilization Canada. Another is Ian Shigeaki Weber, 26, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 days in jail on July 20 for mischief and violating an undertaking to not block traffic. 

At that hearing, Crown lawyer Ellen Leno said there had been 43 arrests of 31 individuals from Save Old Growth in the Vancouver area and 96 arrests of 71 individuals from Extinction Rebellion protests. 

Vancouver Provincial Court Judge James Sutherland agreed to the joint sentencing proposal from Leno and Weber’s lawyer, Sarah Grewal, which also included 18 months probation and an order to not intentionally block roadways. 

Weber had been arrested for blocking traffic on Broadway near Environment Minister George Heyman’s office last September, near Vancouver International Airport and the north end of the Burrard Bridge last October, and the Upper Levels Highway near the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal at the end of January. 

Mixed messages from Save Old Growth about Ian Shigeaki Weber (Instagram)

Leno told the court that Weber continued coordinate SOG’s April roadblocks. 

“There was a minor collision caused because of one of them,” Leno told the court. “There was a woman who was in labour who police had to escort over the Lions Gate Bridge after they cleared a blockade, and frustrated motorists did attempt to physically pull protesters off the roadway before police arrived.”

Three vehicles seized by Vancouver Police from a June 13 protest at the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Bridge were registered to Weber and Eco-Mobilization Canada. 

Sutherland noted the YVR protest was near Canada’s second-busiest airport and a COVID-19 testing site. 

“The interruption of traffic flow to the airport was not only one that affected citizens in terms of their mobility and travel but also placed at risk emergency services as well,” he said.

The court heard that 26-year-old, Richmond-born Weber has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from UBC and has worked as a dog walker and for Uber Eats, but is otherwise unemployed. Weber did not express remorse in a statement he read to the court. Instead, he admitted he was scared to go to jail, but even more fearful of the perceived lack of action by governments toward climate change. 

“Somebody like Mr. Weber is passionate enough, committed enough and bright enough to be creative enough, I’m sure, to pursue his passions, but in a way that conforms with the rule of law,” Sutherland said. 

Ultimately, the judge said, “it’s the method that’s the rub.” 

“Without the rule of law, random anarchy results,” Sutherland said.

Sutherland waived the $100-per-offence victim fine surcharge because he said Weber had devoted more time to environmental pursuits than earning an income.

Weber was released after nine days in jail. SOG resumed its roadblock campaign on July 29.

A month earlier, on June 29, SOG announced it stopped roadblocks. That was also the day Ian Wilton Schortinghuis, 30, pleaded guilty to three counts of mischief and two counts of breach of undertaking. He had been in jail since his June 13 arrest at the Massey Tunnel. Judge Laura Bakan freed him June 30 on a conditional discharge and 24 months probation due to his remorse and desire to pursue training to be an auto mechanic.

“He fits the profile of some persons that I find, unfortunately, are used by organizations as foot soldiers while those behind organizing stay safe and sound,” Bakan said.

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Bob Mackin Different name, same face.  The Vancouver chapter

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For the week of Aug. 14, 2022:

Returning to theBreaker.news Podcast is Jim Mullin, with the view from Bowen Island. 

Mullin is the president of Football Canada, general secretary of the International Federation of American Football and host of Krown Gridiron Nation on TSN.

He joins host Bob Mackin to weigh-in with the latest gridiron trends and sets the scene for this October’s Bowen Island election. Growth and the environment are the big issues in his slice of paradise, in Howe Sound. 

Also, headlines from the Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest. 

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

Now on Google Podcasts!

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

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For the week of Aug. 14, 2022:

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The union representing B.C. government workers could serve 72-hour strike notice on Aug. 12, according to a source familiar with negotiations.

Stephanie Smith (BCGEU)

That would mean either job action early next week or a return to the bargaining table with the NDP government. 

On Aug. 10, Danielle Marchand, press secretary for B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) president Stephanie Smith, neither confirmed nor denied that strike notice was in the works for the end of this week. She said Smith was on vacation for a couple of days and expected back on Friday.

“We just have nothing to say until we have something to say,” Marchand said.

In June, BCGEU announced its workers voted 95% in favour of striking for a new contract. Turnout was 80% for the May 16-June 22 poll. Talks broke down more than a month ago.

The union, which represents 33,000 workers, rejected a nearly 11% increase over three years plus up to $2,500 per member signing bonus offered by the government. Its key demand is for a cost of living adjustment clause to keep up with inflation.

When talks began in February, inflation was 5.7%. It hit a 40-year high of 8.1% in May.

Nearly a month ago, on July 15, president Stephanie Smith released a video that said BCGEU was negotiating with the government over minimum staffing levels to maintain health, safety and welfare. 

Before striking, Smith said the union was considering other tactics, such as work to rule, including bans on overtime, circulating petitions at the workplace, holding lunchtime information lines, refusing hazardous work and any tasks that fall outside of classification duties. 

Bobbi Sadler (BC Gov)

The union faces a deadline of Sept. 20 to take job action. 

However, in a July 28 bargaining update, the union said it was being prevented from a legal strike position because of government’s insistence on high essential service levels. That prompted a  complaint to the Labour Relations Board.

Deputy Minister Bobbi Sadler, the head of the public service, did not respond for comment. 

BCGEU is a fraction of the 400,000 public sector workers whose contracts have expired or will expire this year. The outcome of the BCGEU dispute is expected to influence all other contracts.

“An increase of 1% in total compensation for all B.C. public sector employees is estimated to cost $386 million,” says a government website about public sector bargaining. “For union and other negotiated agreements, a 1% increase would cost nearly $311 million.”

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Bob Mackin The union representing B.C. government workers

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