Vancouver council approves amended plan for Granville Street revitalization
The Granville Street Plan was developed to address neighbourhood issues such as vacant storefronts and 'street disorder concerns,' according to a staff report.
'It's about creating a vibrant, fun space and supporting the local businesses, restaurants, and venues that bring it to life,' said Mayor Ken Sim, in a statement. 'Granville has long been an iconic part of our downtown core, and we're committed to making it thrive again.'
Over 20 years, the city's plan would see Granville transformed into a year-round pedestrian zone stretching across the downtown core.
It would also be split into three distinct areas: an 'entertainment core' focused on culture and nightlife, a 'city centre' with mixed-used residential developments and a public plaza for events, and a quieter 'bridgehead' area connecting Granville with nearby neighbourhoods.
Council first voted to develop a revitalization program for Granville back in 2023, launching an engagement process that included feedback from businesses, residents, community organizations and the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations.
Some of the amendments added to the plan before it was passed Wednesday involved exploring options for two-way cycling access, and the potential for an 'attended indoor bike parkade.'
Another amendment required that staff engage with the city's disability community, to ensure the final designs 'maximize accessibility, including but not limited to ensuring that curbs and stairs are avoided when possible.'
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Globe and Mail
22 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Air Canada customers stuck in limbo highlights competition, air passenger protection issues, experts say
Travellers are looking to get back on track with their itineraries after Air Canada reached an agreement with the union representing its flight attendants on Tuesday. But the fallout from the labour dispute, which scuttled summer travel for thousands of Canadians, highlights a glaring gap in Canada's air passenger protection system that is exacerbated by scarce competition. Nearly a week since Air Canada began cancelling flights ahead of the strike deadline, many are still struggling to get what they're owed in this labour disruption, including refunds and rebookings. 'Air Canada and its flight attendants have totally left us high and dry,' said Adam Rabiner of North Vancouver. Air Canada resumes flying after flight attendants' strike ends Air Canada's flight attendant strike disrupts travel for thousands of people, at home and abroad Mr. Rabiner said he was set to fly to Paraguay on an Air Canada flight on Thursday to chaperone his daughter while she played at the Junior Pan American Karate Championships. Instead, he spent $1,300 on non-refundable tickets with another airline after he wasn't able to reach Air Canada to find out whether his flight was still leaving as scheduled or get a refund or rebooking. 'Unless they do something to compensate us and communicate with us properly, I will refuse to book with them again,' he said. While Mr. Rabiner has a few other options – WestJet, Porter and Flair for domestic flights, for example – the selection is slim. And that's part of the reason why passengers are in this mess to begin with, consumer advocates say. Airlines work to add flights, make schedule adjustments in face of Air Canada labour dispute 'If we had more competition in Canada, the airlines would be inclined to treat their passengers better and their workers better,' said Tahira Dawood, staff lawyer at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. 'A lot of these problems would have not arose in the first place.' The rules meant to protect passengers' rights and their enforcement have also come under criticism. Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations require airlines to financially compensate passengers beyond rebookings or refunds when the disruption is within the airline's control and not related to safety. However, labour disruptions in Canada are considered outside the airline's control, which means passengers are owed little beyond the choice of a refund or rebooking. And even then, holding airlines to account has been difficult, Ms. Dawood said. When an airline fails to meet its obligations under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Rules, passengers have few avenues to turn to beyond an overburdened transportation regulator. (The Canadian Transportation Agency saw its backlog reach 87,000 complaints earlier this year.) Air Canada, the airline oligopoly and the abused consumer When it comes to flying with other carriers, alternatives in Canada are scarce. A June report from the Competition Bureau highlighted the issue and recommended opening up the domestic industry to foreign ownership, limiting mergers of carriers and removing operational barriers for smaller airports. Elsewhere, there are far stronger protections available to passengers in the event of labour disruptions. Strikes by an airline in both the European Union and Britain are considered within the airline's control, triggering compensation and duty of care obligations. 'In Europe and the U.K., the rule is simple,' said John Marzo, co-founder and chief executive officer of Airfairness, a travel tech and consumer protection company. 'If it's the airline's own employees on strike, you can claim compensation under EC261 or UK261.' Under EU Regulation 261, courts have consistently held that strikes by airline staff are not 'extraordinary circumstances,' said Baqa Rashdi, the managing director and senior lawyer at Law Booth in Mississauga, whose practice deals with criminal, family and civil litigation. His research into aviation law has been personal. Under the EU model, Air France paid him compensation quickly for a delay on a trip to Spain and openly acknowledged its mistake, he said. With Air Canada, 'I was essentially compensated with a credit toward a future flight.' Since labour relations by an airline in Europe are considered part of the carrier's ordinary business risks under its regulations, passengers are typically entitled to compensation when a flight is cancelled or delayed. In defying the back-to-work order, CUPE took a calculated risk that paid off The amount depends on flight distance and length of delay. But in general, the EU has put a clear price tag on passenger inconvenience: €250 (about $400) for short-haul, €400 for medium and €600 for long-haul flights, Mr. Rashidi said. The EU's framework has been effective in expanding consumer rights and creating predictable outcomes, reinforced by strong case law, he said. 'Canada's system has been criticized for carving out too many exceptions, strikes being one of the clearest examples.' While airlines often argue that giving out compensation at a high rate could drive up fares, Ms. Dawood referred to the Competition Bureau's July report that found higher Canadian fares are more closely tied to limited competition and concentrated ownership. The Competition Bureau's report also recommended removing exclusivity clauses on international flights that restrict competition and expanding Canadian Air Transport Security Authority services, which oversee specific elements of air safety, to smaller secondary airports. For example, the exclusivity clauses in ground leases at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport prohibit international flights at nearby secondary airports to limit competition. Removing these restrictions, among other barriers, would give passengers and workers more options, the report found. For now, passengers in Canada are left to suffer the effects of poor enforcement of air protection rights and an uncompetitive industry said Geoff White, executive director and general counsel at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. 'This will take a legislative fix – this is fundamentally a failure of competition,' Mr. White said. 'When it comes to Canada's addiction to monopolies, it's a matter of political will.'
CTV News
22 minutes ago
- CTV News
Government moves to reverse new expense disclosure policy following backlash
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government may backtrack on a new expense policy that ends the public disclosure of receipts for government officials. Alberta's government is backtracking on a new expense policy that ended the public disclosure of receipts for government officials, following widespread criticism that the move erodes transparency. The policy, quietly published on Aug. 1 before the long weekend, removed a long-standing requirement that ministers, senior staff and deputy ministers publicly disclose receipts for expenses over $100. It also erased eight years of previously available online records. Premier Danielle Smith said the intent was to protect cabinet members, who often stay at the same hotels while travelling around the province. 'The issue that cabinet discussed was that there are a number of my ministers who go to the same hotels when they're frequenting different municipalities, and they just wanted the name of the hotel redacted, just in case people were tracking them down,' Smith said. 'It turned out to be something quite different.' Finance Minister Nate Horner's press secretary, Marisa Breeze, said the directive was meant 'to improve government operations and reduce red tape, and to bring Alberta's policies into alignment with other provinces.' She said the purpose was to 'ensure the privacy and safety of elected officials and staff specifically as it relates to the physical location of their accommodations while travelling.' She said receipts were still required for reimbursement and can be accessed through Alberta's Freedom of Information process. Later on Tuesday, Breeze provided CTV News with an additional statement: 'Earlier today, cabinet discussed recent amendments to the expense policy. Cabinet recognized the importance of an expense posting policy that achieves both security and transparency. 'Cabinet has therefore directed the president of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance to request Treasury Board immediately revert to the previous expense posting policy expecting that address information for accommodations will be redacted on receipts posted online to ensure security of elected members and staff.' The Opposition NDP called the policy a deliberate attempt to conceal government spending. 'Albertans foot the bill for government expenses. They expect receipts, not excuses,' said NDP house leader Christina Gray. 'Smith's government changed their policy on a Friday before a long weekend and scrubbed eight years of receipts from the internet. This was wrong, and all of these changes should be reversed.' NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi accused Smith of leading 'the most opaque government I've ever seen.' He said the premier 'claims she knew nothing about it. So she knows nothing about what's going on in her government. In reality, of course, she knew what was going on; she just wasn't expecting the backlash.' Independent MLA Peter Guthrie, a former cabinet minister, said the premier was also trying to shift blame. 'The premier is quick to take credit when things go right but just as quick to pass blame when they don't,' Guthrie said. 'Albertans deserve a government that leads with integrity, not one that hides expenses, blames others and dodges accountability.' The Canadian Taxpayers Federation said the rollback is essential. 'For the longest time, Alberta has had really strong transparency laws where politicians, their bureaucrats and staff have to show their receipts for their expenses,' said Alberta director Kris Sims. 'It isn't through FOI. You don't need to pay a fee. They have to post their receipts online—until now.' She added that taxpayers 'want to know if your tax dollars are paying to rent a Corolla or a Corvette, a Subway sandwich supper or lobster and steak on your dime. This is why detailed receipts matter.' Sims also dismissed the government's explanation that system capacity issues required the removal of older records. ' 'We hereby permit the government to go spend some money on external hard drives if it means they're going to be transparent with taxpayers,' she said. Lori Williams, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, said the explanation did little to ease concerns. 'They just removed eight years' worth of public records from the website,' she said. 'If it is a concern, you can simply redact the name of the hotel.' James Turk, executive director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University, called the expense changes 'the tip of a far more serious iceberg.' He said the policy fits into 'a much larger blocking of access to information on the part of Albertans' under new legislation brought in by Smith's government earlier this year. 'In June, they brought in a new Access to Information Act, replacing the former FOIP Act as well as the Protection of Privacy Act,' Turk said. 'The access to information decreases the transparency of government and decreases the public and journalists' right to information from the government.' He added that by limiting the time receipts remain public and removing older records, the government is 'making it harder for the public and for journalists to keep track of what politicians and senior government officials are doing.' Turk said Alberta should be leading on transparency, not retreating. 'We don't want provinces going to the lowest common denominator,' he said. Diane McLeod, Alberta's information and privacy commissioner, provided a statement on the matter to media earlier this month. 'These changes diminish transparency and our office has no knowledge of the rationale for them,' her statement said, in part. 'The OIPC takes the view that transparency is critically important. Citizens are rightfully concerned about government stewardship of public resources and there is high, ongoing demand for records of government travel and other expenses, as well as other types of government spending. 'When expense concerns or scandals arise, they can lead to a crisis of public confidence in government. Proactively disclosing the expense data of senior government officials can enhance government transparency and accountability, build public trust and reduce formal access requests. 'This is why, in general, I regard government transparency as so important.'
CBC
23 minutes ago
- CBC
Air Canada, Union reach tentative deal. Here's what we know
A tentative agreement has been reached to end the contact dispute between Air Canada and its flight attendants, both parties announced Tuesday. The deal comes after nine hours of discussions with a mediator appointed by the federal government.
