Latest news with #VancouverCoastalHealth
CBC
22-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Vancouver city council extends downtown liquor serving times
Most downtown Vancouver bars will be able to apply to serve alcohol as late as 4 a.m., and bars outside the core will also be able to extend their hours after Vancouver city council voted unanimously to change its liquor serving laws on Tuesday. Several business owners spoke at council in support of the motion, applauding the decision. "This is changing the perception of 'liquor primary licence' to 'vibrant gathering places' for communities to meet in real life," said Cameron Bogue, owner-operator of Mount Pleasant Vintage and Provisions. "I've opened one of the most successful restaurants in the city, with staggering year-over-year growth, because we're providing [what] the community wants — a place to socialize, rub elbows, simply stand with a drink, and dance where they can meet people in an engaging, high-volume cocktail bar." Where and when can you drink? Liquor-primary establishments like bars and pubs inside downtown Vancouver will be able to make an application to the province to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. Outside of downtown, businesses will be able to apply to serve drinks until 3 a.m. on weekends and 2 a.m. on weeknights. Restaurants will also be able to apply to sell alcohol until 2 a.m. The change, expected to be in place later this year, aligns with B.C.'s present rules on serving liquor from 9 to 4 a.m. Local governments are able to adjust their hours according to community needs. While others in the industry reflected Bogue's support, a Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) officer advised council to reconsider expanding drinking hours. Extending hours risky, says medical health officer "Increasing alcohol consumption into the late night or early morning hours is particularly risky, and the risk increases as you get later in the evening," said Mark Lysyshyn, medical health officer, VCH. "It's not so much that more people drink into the evening — it's just the type of drinking that's done in that timeframe is more risky, it's more likely to result in problems," he said referring to a risk of injuries, violence and the potential for harm to others compared to allowing earlier opening hours. Coun. Pete Fry said he would "reluctantly" support the motion and shared concerns about possible increased policing costs that may be incurred if serving hours extend to 4 a.m. "I say 'reluctantly' because I would have liked to see more staff input on what this means for resources, what this means for policing, and what this could potentially mean for opportunities, especially with FIFA coming," said Fry. "I imagine the majority of businesses won't support it unless there's a viable output for a 4 a.m. closure," he added. City staff don't expect every bar and pub in the city to extend their hours right away. "Staff anticipate it's likely going to be a slow uptake," said Sarah Hicks, chief licence inspector, with the City of Vancouver. "It really needs to make economic sense for businesses. In order to look at expanding those hours. There's increased costs for staffing. They have to consider being able to provide that ... [in] the application with the province in order to go through with that, so it's likely going to be a slower uptake with any of these changes."
CBC
21-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
E. coli contamination closes 9 Vancouver beaches for swimming
Nine public beaches in Metro Vancouver are closed for swimming because of high E. coli levels in the water. Vancouver Coastal Health says some possible sources of contamination include animal waste, storm water runoff and discharge from boats.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Several Vancouver beaches remain closed for swimming ahead of big event weekend
On a weekend shaping up to be full of festivities around the beach, including the Vancouver Folk Music Festival and the Honda Celebration of Light fireworks, officials are warning people to stay out of the water in some popular areas. Nine beaches around Vancouver are currently designated as "not suitable for swimming," due to unsafe levels of E. coli, according to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH): Ambleside Beach. Wreck Beach. English Bay. Kitsilano Beach. Second Beach. Sunset Beach. Third Beach. Lions Bay. Trout Lake. Three more beaches have E. coli levels that were higher than expected in samples, though swimming is not restricted: Dundarave Beach. Sandy Beach. Eagle Harbour. Michael Schwandt, medical health officer at VCH, said it's uncommon to have this many beaches not suitable for swimming at the same time. "Normally, we might see one or more beaches within that status at a given point in time, but not very commonly do we see so many all at the same time," Schwandt said. There are a number of possible contaminants, according to Schwandt, including runoff from sewers or leaking sewage, as well as discharge from boats or animal sources like dogs and birds. "We're working with the local and regional government to further examine that." Schwandt said there's been more reports of recreational boating in the area, particularly with the weekend's upcoming festivals, and suggested discharge from boats could be contributing to the increased levels of E. coli. Gregary Ford, vice-president of Swim Drink Fish Canada, an environmental charity focused on connecting people with water, noted E. coli is a natural bacteria found in the water, one that's frequently an indicator of "human fecal waste." It has the potential to cause human gastrointestinal illnesses, ear infections, eye infections and skin infections, according to Ford. "It's an unpleasant way to spend the day after a lovely day at the beach." He noted combined sewers, in which sanitary sewers and storm sewers are combined into a single pipe that directs the water to a treatment facility, are one way E. coli can enter local waterways. The systems are designed to overflow into water bodies like lakes and rivers, so they don't overflow back into streets or basements. "But what that means is that sometimes we are depositing this deleterious substance directly into the waters that people frequent for swimming, drinking or fishing." Ford said investing in infrastructure to separate storm and sanitary sewers is a long-term and expensive solution, so many municipalities are also investing in low-impact green infrastructure that can reduce the amount of runoff water entering the sewer system, such as rain barrels, stormwater ponds, bioswales (which carry stormwater to another location) or rain gardens. Ford said climate change means warmer temperatures and more intense, frequent rainfall are predicted. "It's critical that we bring this into the conversation, because as our climate starts to change and these rainfall events become more common, those are things that we need to keep in mind moving forward regarding how we effectively manage our stormwater." Stephen Paetkau of Skookum Yacht Services operates a free mobile pump-out service for the City of Vancouver to pump out "black water" from boats out to the city's sewer. He said there hasn't been much of an increase in customers for the pump-out service recently. "It's been pretty static for the last seven or eight years," he said. He said he was unsure if people are dumping waste from their boats. "It's literally something you have to be in the water to watch it happen in order to know it's happening." He said the boating community is also likely "better behaved" now than a decade ago, but noted there's little enforcement of Transport Canada's rules on dumping waste.
CTV News
19-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Mosquito study underway in B.C.'s Sea-to-Sky region after scattering of severe illness
A small number of virus cases in B.C. last year has triggered a study in the Sea-to-Sky region of mosquito populations and the diseases they may carry. A small number of virus cases in B.C. last year has triggered a study in the Sea-to-Sky region of mosquito populations and the diseases they may carry. A small-scale mosquito surveillance project is being launched in B.C.'s Sea-to-Sky region to better understand the mosquitos in the area and what diseases they may be carrying. The project, launched by Vancouver Coastal Health in collaboration with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, Líl̓wat Nation, Squamish Nation and the University of B.C., was prompted after a spate of mosquito-borne illness was reported in the region late last year. 'Late last year in the fall, we were notified of a small cluster of individuals who were diagnosed with an illness known as California Serogroup, and they had all presented with severe neurological symptoms of encephalitis,' said Dr. Moliehi Khaketla, medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health. Encephalitis is an autoimmune response that leads to a swelling of the brain. According to Khaketla, the majority of people who contact the virus show 'mild to no symptoms' and it is only 'a very small proportion' of individuals that have these severe neurological presentations. While the specific infection was not new to the province, it was notable that four cases occurred over the course of one summer and that the severity of those cases meant the infected required hospitalization, said Khaketla. Prior to these four cases, there had been only three cases of California Serogroup reported since 2009. 'We decided to investigate to better understand if these individuals had acquired this illness while traveling to another area, or if they had stayed locally in B.C., and we determined that they had all likely acquired this new emerging pathogen locally in the Sea-to-Sky region, which was new,' said Khaketla. The project, due to last three months, may be extended to allow surveys of other regions in B.C. if new cases arise. 'Because this is an emerging pathogen, this is our first step to being able to better understand this problem,' Khaketla said. 'Depending on how these results go, and if we see new additional cases this summer of this illness, it may prompt other regions across B.C. to conduct something similar.' As the study gets underway, VCH is highlighting the importance of preventing mosquito bites and the various ways that they can be protected against. Khaketla recommends wearing mosquito repellents, wearing clothing that covers more skin – like full-length pants or long-sleeved shirts – installing screens on windows and avoiding being outdoors during times when mosquitoes are more active, typically around dusk and dawn. Removing sources of stagnant water, where mosquitos can breed, may also remove the risk, he said. 'That could be simple things like removing the water under saucers or flowerpots, or changing bird baths, or unblocking your rain gutters, things like that,' he said.
CBC
19-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Several Vancouver beaches remain closed for swimming ahead of big event weekend
Social Sharing On a weekend shaping up to be full of festivities around the beach, including the Vancouver Folk Music Festival and the Honda Celebration of Light fireworks, officials are warning people to stay out of the water in some popular areas. Nine beaches around Vancouver are currently designated as "not suitable for swimming," due to unsafe levels of E. coli, according to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). Ambleside Beach Wreck Beach. English Bay. Kitsilano Beach. Second Beach. Sunset Beach. Third Beach. Lions Bay, Trout Lake. Three more beaches have E. coli levels that were higher than expected in samples, though swimming is not restricted. Dundarave Beach. Sandy Beach. Eagle Harbour. Michael Schwandt, medical health officer at VCH, said it's uncommon to have this many beaches not suitable for swimming at the same time. "Normally, we might see one or more beaches within that status at a given point in time, but not very commonly do we see so many all at the same time," Schwandt said. There are a number of possible contaminants, according to Schwandt, including runoff from sewers or leaking sewage, as well as discharge from boats or animal sources like dogs and birds. "We're working with the local and regional government to further examine that." Schwandt said there's been more reports of recreational boating in the area, particularly with the weekend's upcoming festivals, and suggested discharge from boats could be contributing to the increased levels of E. coli. Gregary Ford, vice-president of Swim Drink Fish Canada, an environmental charity focused on connecting people with water, noted E. coli is a natural bacteria found in the water, one that's frequently an indicator of "human fecal waste." It has the potential to cause human gastrointestinal illnesses, ear infections, eye infections and skin infections, according to Ford. "It's an unpleasant way to spend the day after a lovely day at the beach." He noted combined sewers, in which sanitary sewers and storm sewers are combined into a single pipe that directs the water to a treatment facility, are one way E. coli can enter local waterways. The systems are designed to overflow into water bodies like lakes and rivers, so they don't overflow back into streets or basements. "But what that means is that sometimes we are depositing this deleterious substance directly into the waters that people frequent for swimming, drinking or fishing." Ford said investing in infrastructure to separate storm and sanitary sewers is a long-term and expensive solution, so many municipalities are also investing in low-impact green infrastructure that can reduce the amount of runoff water entering the sewer system, such as rain barrels, stormwater ponds, bioswales (which carry stormwater to another location) or rain gardens. Ford said climate change means warmer temperatures and more intense, frequent rainfall are predicted. "It's critical that we bring this into the conversation, because as our climate starts to change and these rainfall events become more common, those are things that we need to keep in mind moving forward regarding how we effectively manage our stormwater." Stephen Paetkau of Skookum Yacht Services operates a free mobile pump-out service for the City of Vancouver to pump out "black water" from boats out to the city's sewer. He said there hasn't been much of an increase in customers for the pump-out service recently. "It's been pretty static for the last seven or eight years," he said. He said he was unsure if people are dumping waste from their boats. "It's literally something you have to be in the water to watch it happen in order to know it's happening." He said the boating community is also likely "better behaved" now than a decade ago, but noted there's little enforcement of Transport Canada's rules on dumping waste.
