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Vancouver Sun
31-07-2025
- General
- Vancouver Sun
Discount offered for late drop-in swimmers at Vancouver's outdoor pools
The Vancouver park board is offering discounts for late drop-ins at its four outdoor pools, following reservation system complaints. The Vancouver park board says starting Tuesday, swimmers who drop in during the final 45 minutes of outdoor pool swim sessions will receive a 50 per cent discount. Staff say this is part of a summer trial aimed at improving flexibility and access for drop-in users at all outdoor pools, including Kitsilano Pool, Second Beach Pool, New Brighton Pool, and Maple Grove Pool. The discount does not apply to length swim sessions between 7 and 8:30 a.m., or to reservations. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The park board is also extending the broken-up afternoon sessions at Kitsilano Pool into one long session. So that means the 3 to 5:30 p.m. and 6 to 8:30 p.m. sessions will now be combined for a 3 to 8:30 p.m. session. The reservation system will remain in place, with 80 per cent of spots allocated for reservations and 20 per cent allocated for drop-ins. Drop-in availability may increase depending on real time attendance. The park board says its reservation system allows users, especially those travelling from farther away, to plan their visits with confidence. However some argue the reservation system, which was brought in during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, is too limiting for patrons. Earlier this month , park board chair Laura Christensen declined to hear a motion by ABC Vancouver park board commissioner Marie-Claire Howard to end the controversial reservation system. Cancelled reservations are non-refundable and don't go back into the system if someone decides not to come. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim argues there has been overwhelming public feedback asking that the 'outdated' booking system be scrapped. Christensen disagrees and has 'personally received significant positive feedback from residents who use and appreciate the booking system.' ticrawford@ With files from Denise Ryan
Vancouver Sun
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
'Outdated' Kits pool reservation system part of turf war between park board and mayor
The battle over a reservation system that limits access to Kitsilano Pool has become part of the turf war between the Vancouver park board and Mayor Ken Sim. On Monday night, park board chairwoman Laura Christensen declined to hear a motion by ABC Vancouver park board commissioner Marie-Claire Howard to end the controversial reservation system that was launched in 2020 amid COVID-19 restrictions. The system includes reduced pool capacity, and holds 80 per cent of the slots for online reservations, with only 20 per cent reserved for two-hour drop-ins, and the pool shuts down for four, 30-minute COVID era cleaning breaks. Cancelled reservations are non-refundable and don't go back into the system if someone decides not to come. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Sim, who had already publicly urged the park board to resolve the issue, fired back Tuesday with a statement saying there had been overwhelming public feedback asking that the 'outdated' booking system be scrapped. 'Vancouver residents deserve better. They want a system that works,' said Sim. Christensen said she was disappointed by Sim's statement: 'He doesn't have the full picture. I've been getting feedback on both sides of this argument. Staff are planning to report back after the summer, they are collecting data and feedback.' Howard's motion was shut down, said Christensen, because it didn't meet the threshold of 'urgent business,' defined as being related to public health or safety, or a significant financial or legal matter. At the shaded entry gate to Kits Pool on Tuesday, first-timer Barbara Frosch, a senior, seemed perplexed by a white board propped up against the fence that outlined the slot system: 9 to 11:30 a.m., lane swimming only. Noon to 2:30 p.m., drop-ins available. Three to 5:30 p.m., drop-ins available. Six to 8:30 p.m., drop-ins available. In between slots, users must leave and the pool is shut for the 30 minutes of COVID-era cleaning, while the next group of reserved-users queues outside. Kenny Heintz, who was just arriving with a folded chair strapped to his back, was already counting the minutes he would be allowed to stay before he would be kicked out for the next time-slot — not enough. 'The system is failing people who want to use the pool,' he said. Dave Roberts said he used the pool without any issues for 30 years, until the pandemic restrictions that introduced the reservation system. 'It sucks,' said Roberts, who lane-swims once a week. 'The website is confusing, and it charges fees which make it $10 a swim.' Swimmer Wendy Lee called the system 'ridiculous.' 'The pool is half-empty. It already costs a fortune to come down here and park with kids. Parents are stressed out enough without having to book in advance and only get two hours,' said Lee. Broadcaster Jody Vance, who has been fiercely advocating for Kits Pool to scrap the system that leaves the pool empty for two hours out of every day, said a generation of young people is getting shut out. 'When I was a kid, going down to Kits Pool spontaneously was affordable, accessible, walkable and bus-able. We could make a day of it.' Once she had her son, Brady, now 17, it was home base: a place her parenting community could gather on a patchwork of towels at the shallow end, watching each other's kids as they took turns doing laps. 'I'm fighting for a generation of kids that are not going to enjoy what we loved about our city,' said Vance. 'Where is the common sense?' Christensen said the two-hour time-slots are about increasing equity for people who want to enjoy the pool, and limiting long, hot waits in line. 'In the past someone would show up and stay there the entire day, that's why you would get these long lines, somebody could be at the pool for an hour or for six hours while others had to wait,' said Christensen. Christensen said the park board numbers show that drop-in times haven't been fully utilized this summer. 'We are not hitting capacity,' said Christensen, who added that staff are planning a public education campaign to help people better understand how to use the system, and take advantage of drop-in times. As for Sim's letter, Christensen was blunt: 'For Ken Sim to write a letter to demand we change a system when he doesn't have the full picture of all of the benefits of the reservation system, that there are drop-ins available and that they can be used, shows that he's doing this for the wrong reasons.' dryan@
Hamilton Spectator
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Vancouver's Housing Freeze Draws Fire from Indigenous rights advocates
(ANNews) – In Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES), Indigenous people make up a disproportionate share of the unhoused population – a direct result of colonial dispossession, poverty, and systemic neglect. Now, a new policy from Mayor Ken Sim's municipal government threatens to deepen this crisis. In February, Vancouver city council voted to freeze the construction of new supportive housing. The decision, led by Sim and his ABC Vancouver party, halts the development of units meant for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Sim argued that Vancouver already provides 77 per cent of Metro Vancouver's supportive services while housing only 25 per cent of the region's population, claiming a pause is needed to 'renew aging stock.' But for many Indigenous advocates and housing organizers, the mayor's math is a smokescreen. The move exposed divisions at city hall. Councillors Pete Fry, Lisa Dominato, and independent Rebecca Bligh opposed the freeze. Bligh, ousted from ABC for resisting similar cuts, had called for provincial consultation – a move many see as clashing with the mayor's top-down style. Adding to concerns is Sim's push to dissolve Vancouver's elected park board – despite ABC's sweep of city council, school board, and park board seats in 2022. Critics see this as a consolidation of power that mirrors his handling of the housing file. Sim insists his government wants to 'address the root causes of homelessness.' Yet his actions suggest otherwise. While invoking provincial and federal responsibility, his policies freeze funding streams and delay badly needed construction – passing the buck in a bureaucratic game of hot potato. As the City of Vancouver halts new supportive housing, Nonprofit-organization is scaling up. CityReach Care Society executive director Simon Gau is leading efforts to prevent homelessness before it begins; prevention, not pause, should be focused. 'We've just entered our second year of federal funding through the Reaching Home initiative – around $400,000 to help prevent homelessness before it starts,' Gau explains. 'Our goal is to reverse-engineer homelessness by identifying individuals and families at risk, building relationships, and giving them tools to remain housed.' Simon shared that CityReach is expanding its services through 'The Hope project' which 'is an extension of our Club Freedom program, which already connects with vulnerable populations by providing hot meals, spiritual care, street outreach, and prison outreach.' The organization plans to demonstrate the impact of its current federal funding by exceeding expectations and using the results to advocate for increased funding and program expansion. But it begs a question, where is the municipal funding if this is a proven effective program that efficiently offloads government responsibility? Echoes of Colonial Urban Policy The freeze comes amid renewed scrutiny of how municipal governments perpetuate the legacy of Indigenous displacement – not just in rural land seizures, but through urban renewal agendas. Jean Barman's seminal article Erasing Indigenous Indigeneity in Vancouver traces how 19-century development efforts targeted Indigenous settlements near False Creek, often under moralizing claims about 'drunkenness' and disorder. Today's language may be less overt, but the message remains. Sim has described DTES single-room occupancy buildings as 'crumbling,' 'unlivable,' and 'infested,' justifying intervention not with compassion but condemnation. Sim's latest proposal – a 're-unification roundtable' to help relocate Indigenous residents to their home nations – is framed as a healing initiative. But Indigenous critics warn it could become a modern rebranding of removal. 'Health outcomes are better when you are in your community,' Sim has said, pledging you don't have to leave if you don't want to; yet, your consent is manufactured. Still, the optics of moving Indigenous people out of a gentrifying urban core ring familiar. As Barman noted, settler officials once rationalized displacement with the belief that Indigenous people could simply be relocated to a 'just as convenient' space. These rationalizations haven't disappeared – they've just changed their packaging. A Haunting Familiar to Alberta The story unfolding in Vancouver resonates deeply with Indigenous communities in Alberta. In Edmonton, urban development has repeatedly clashed with encampments set up by unhoused residents – many of them Indigenous. In Calgary, the Beltline and East Village have seen Indigenous residents pushed out by condo projects and commercial rezoning. Amber Dean, writing in The West and Beyond, calls these areas 'haunted' by colonial logic. The DTES – and by extension, similar districts across the country – are frequently framed as both overcrowded and empty, dangerous yet disposable. This 'frontier logic,' a term coined by legal geographer Nicholas Blomley, equates poverty with waste and vacancy – making removal seem not just rational, but necessary. This language masks the lived realities of Indigenous people who remain rooted in place despite generations of exclusion. It sanitizes policy and rebrands displacement as 'revitalization.' Who Belongs in the City? Sim's approach – pausing housing, sidelining dissent, and floating voluntary relocation – reflects a broader question: who gets to belong in cities like Vancouver, Edmonton, or Calgary? In the past, cities erased Indigenous presence through overt policy. Today, displacement occurs through more subtle tools: rezoning, housing freezes, and political messaging that casts social responsibility as a burden. Unless these policies are challenged, they will continue to treat Indigenous people as temporary guests in their own territories – instead of the permanent, self-determining communities they are. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Vancouver Sun
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Vancouver mayor's former chief of staff starts new political party
Kareem Allam, a longtime political strategist who helped propel ABC Vancouver to power, is launching the city's newest political party with a goal of unseating Ken Sim, the mayor he once served as chief of staff. Allam — ABC's former campaign manager and more recently, its most outspoken critic — has publicly mused in recent weeks of running for office and had set up committees made up of mostly former B.C. Liberals to gauge the level of support he'd have in a run. On Thursday, the Vancouver Liberals was officially registered with Elections B.C. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. It's a party Allam hopes would attract 'pragmatists' and people across the political spectrum unhappy with the direction the city is headed under ABC. 'I anticipate there would be pure centre, pure left and even centre right,' he said. 'I'm just looking for the best and brightest in the city regardless of their political affiliation.' The party also released its logo: A stylized V and L with the V made up by an image of Anna's hummingbird, the city's official bird. 'We thought it was reflective of the city,' with the bird's red, blue, and green colours representing the political spectrum, Allam said. 'We want to bring in the Greens, New Democrats and Conservatives,' he said. 'We want all aspects to feel welcome.' In addition to running for mayor, Allam said his party will run a full slate of council, park board, and school board candidates in the October 2026 municipal election. He's also open to ex-ABC elected officials joining. The party is going to have one overarching goal, he said: To create a fiscal and social platform that attracts young people back to the city. 'We need young people to invest in the city and lay down roots. Right now they're leaving Vancouver by droves,' he said, noting that while Surrey's school district is enrolling about 85,000 kids in K-12, Vancouver has less than 50,000 kids and is shrinking. 'We believe it's a challenge, but we believe it's doable.' He vowed to work to reverse that trend, including by cutting red tape and removing 'layers of policies' that make home building in Vancouver more expensive and time-consuming than other municipalities. He also said he'd put taxpayer dollars towards improving parks and playgrounds and expanding community centre and library hours. Allam was largely credited with masterminding ABC's sweeping victory in 2022, when the upstart party won majorities in council, park board, and school board. He served as Sim's chief of staff for 89 days until he was removed from the position in February 2023. Since then, Allam has been outspoken in his criticism of some ABC policies, including Sim's move to abolish the park board, the party's efforts to suspend the work of the integrity commissioner, the Hastings Street decampment and Vancouver police's Project Barrage. In May, Allam and businessman Alex G. Tsakumis were sued by Sim in B.C. Supreme Court for alleged defamatory comments about an alleged impaired driving incident. This week, Allam filed a response to the lawsuit, denying his comments were defamatory and said the lawsuit should be dropped. Allam said his new party and political ambitions have nothing to do with the lawsuit or his contentious relationship with Sim. 'I'm not running for any other reason than I think I can do a better job,' he said. 'I love this city and I don't like the direction it's headed in.' chchan@
The Province
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Province
Ken Sim's financial agent fined $12K for violating election rules
According to an enforcement notice issued by Elections B.C. on Tuesday, Mayor Ken Sim's financial agent Corey Sue was dinged for accepting prohibited contributions and for failing to return prohibited contributions in a timely manner. Corey Sue, Mayor Ken Sim and ABC Vancouver's financial agent, has been fined nearly $12,000 for violating election rules during the 2022 election campaign. Sim is pictured here on Oct. 15, 2022 after winning the Vancouver mayoral race. Photo by Francis Georgian / PNG Corey Sue, the financial agent for Mayor Ken Sim and the ABC Vancouver party, has been fined just over $12,000 for violating election rules during the 2022 campaign. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors According to an enforcement notice issued by Elections B.C. on Tuesday, Sue was dinged for accepting prohibited contributions and for failing to return prohibited contributions in a timely manner. When reached for comment Wednesday, Sim's office deferred questions to ABC Vancouver. In a statement, Sue said he and the organization were 'disappointed in the ruling' but that they believe they 'made every effort to correct the inadvertent errors within the appropriate time frame … (and) respect the decision.' 'ABC has used this as an opportunity to further strengthen our internal procedures,' Sue said in the statement. In January 2024, Postmedia reported on Sim and his party's amended 2022 election financial disclosure that listed three pages of 'prohibited campaign contributions and loans.' Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In an interview with Postmedia at the time, Sue said most of the prohibited donations stemmed from the party's 'unique situation with four Independent candidates doing their own thing before joining ABC.' Sim, along with incumbent Vancouver councillors Rebecca Bligh, Lisa Dominato and Sarah Kirby-Yung, had all been fundraising independently — which was allowed — before joining under the ABC banner. The consolidation of their individual campaigns also required the merging of various financial accounts. At the time, Sue said the party believed it had been following campaign financial rules when the accounts for the four Independent candidates were reconciled. However, it appeared some donors had donated to some combination of the four candidates and, in effect, exceeded the annual limit on donor contributions. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The party did eventually return $116,000 in prohibited donations that were received during the 2022 election. In the enforcement notice posted Tuesday, Adam Barnes, Elections B.C. director of investigations, detailed the back-and-forth communication that continued between Elections B.C. investigators and Sue from March 2024 to March 2025, including how the excess contributions were handled and eventually returned to donors. In the case of two contributions, Sue was penalized for not returning them to the original donor within the 30-day time frame mandated by the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, though he noted they were unable to reach the original donor. Those funds have since been handed over to Elections B.C. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Barnes also noted that while Sue in his capacity as financial agent for Sim and ABC Vancouver had contravened election rules, Sue had been 'responsive to (the) investigation' and that the contraventions 'were honest mistakes and not intentional.' Sue also hasn't previously been penalized for breaking election rules. As a result, Sue has been ordered to pay $11,888 for accepting prohibited contributions and $960 for failing to return prohibited contributions. 'As a volunteer-led organization that processed nearly 3,100 transactions and $2.4 million in contributions during the 2022 campaign, we acknowledge that a small number of inadvertent errors occurred,' Sue said Wednesday. 'The findings in the report show that ABC Vancouver fully cooperated throughout the process, did not intentionally attempt to circumvent campaign finance rules and took prompt action to return any inadvertent donation errors to the contributors once they were identified.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Sue said the party remained 'committed to transparency, integrity and continued compliance with all applicable regulations.' In a statement issued following news of Sue's fine, TEAM for a Livable Vancouver called for harsher penalties such as a ban from participating in election activities. 'ABC has clearly shown that monetary penalties are insufficient; they have become a manageable cost of campaigning,' said TEAM president Chris Johnson. 'A real deterrent maximum penalty would be parties and candidates being prohibited from running in the next election and a prohibition on the overgenerous supporters donating in the following election period.' Coun. Pete Fry echoed that sentiment, calling the fine 'a rather insignificant, paltry amount.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'And frankly, there's still a lot of unanswered questions,' said Fry. 'When I look back over the multitude of amended financial reports from ABC, there's a lot of money moving around and pretty significant discrepancy between the declared expenses over the course of the original reporting and the amended reporting.' Fry said the fine against ABC paled in comparison with that which was handed down to longtime political organizer Mark Marissen, who was banned from local elections for three years after Progress Vancouver broke campaign rules relating to overdue financial reports, a $50,000 loan and other prohibited donations. 'It speaks to a lack of competency, at the very least,' said Fry, on what voters should take away from the latest development. 'The rules were pretty clear for everybody involved and everybody else managed to abide by the rules except for ABC. 'I think the public should heed that as an indictment of their competence.' With files from Dan Fumano sip@ Read More Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks NHL
