Year in Review, part 4
It was another fascinating year in tech, as Vancouver’s mayor buddied up to Bitcoin, Carol Todd looked to take Meta to court, Australia tried to get its teenagers off social media, and London Drugs was hacked into a shutdown.
Besides that, the internet gave us its usual supply of flat earthers, bizarre birthers, lifestyle peddlers, election meddlers, streamers, schemers, commercial phisherman, spam senders, meme-mongers; misinformers and those who retweet ‘em, trolls and fools who feed ‘em; data crooks, Facebook, and the privacy we forsook.
It was also a year of brilliant colours and dim lights. While the ever-brightening satellite sphere left about 80 percent of humans living under “light-polluted skies,” 2024 was also the year scientists found the key to something like invisibility.
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Tartrazine, a lemon-yellow dye that’s been used in everything from Doritos to lipstick, can apparently render a mouse’s skin invisible, allowing for an unnervingly clear look at nerves, muscles and blood vessels. In real time, we can know everything happening inside a mouse. (What goes on in the hearts of men remains a mystery.)
Artificial intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton was named co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024.
While he’s noted the benefits of the technology, particularly in healthcare, Hinton has also discussed possible negative ramifications of AI. Speaking to CBC, Hinton said: “We have no experience of what it’s like to have things smarter than us.”
Not to brag, but I have plenty of experience with that. I’m married.
However, the most inspiring sound from the last three months of 2024 may have been the bells of Notre Dame.
The cathedral, as Gothic as Robert Smith’s eyeliner and as quintessentially Parisian as a baguette poking out of a grocery bag, had a dim future. A fire had toppled a spire and part of the roof had collapsed.
However, over five years the belfry was restored and the organ’s 8,000 pipes were fine tuned.
We know humans can do terrible things. However, it’s good to remember humans also have a remarkable capability to undo terrible things.
Bitcoin blackmail scam hits Tri-Cities; job frauds and double dip deception on rise
Police are trying to figure out how victims are being targeted after receiving 18 reports of blackmail scams in the span of one week.
The scam begins with an email in which a fraudster claims to have “compromising pictures, videos and personal information of the victim,” according to a release from the Coquitlam RCMP.
To keep that compromising material from being sent to friends and family, the victim is instructed to send money to a Bitcoin wallet.
The scam also involves sending the victim a photograph of their house.
October
Prairie Avenue daycare to add 37 spots as PoCo council approves expansion
If you’re looking for daycare in Prairie Mall, you might feel like you’re seeing double.
After previously taking care of a maximum of 37 children, Dream Builders Early Learning Centre can now provide space for 74 children, following a unanimous vote from Port Coquitlam council to tweak their zoning bylaws.
The previous zoning would have allowed for a maximum of 50 children.
Online review costs commenter $3,000
A Google review, a car crash, and a Coquitlam countertop company were at the centre of a $105,000 defamation suit recently heard in B.C. Supreme Court.
Pacific Granite Manufacturing Ltd., which builds and installs granite, marble and stone countertops, was the subject of a negative online review following a car crash involving a neighbour and a company employee.
Port Moody Foundation receives largest single donation in 35-year history
A $500,000 gift to the Port Moody Foundation (PMF) marks the single largest donation in the organizatin’s 35-year history.
The “transformative” contribution from the Port Moody Seniors Housing Society (PMSHS) is so significant, the organization will be able to triple its annual grants to local non-profits, according to Robert Simons, president of the PMF.
• “There’s always a greater demand than supply in the non-profit sector,” Simons said. “For us, as a very small foundation working within Port Moody, it changes the capability of work we do in the community.”
How this Port Moody artist landed her first solo exhibit
This was the year where Angie Quintanilla Coates didn’t say no.
Heading into 2024, Quintanilla Coates, a Port Moody-based artist who grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, dreamed about growing her art business, Five15, which focuses on illustrations and upcycling art.
Since moving to Port Moody in 2020 and deciding to pursue an art career while leaving a relatively stable job in marketing and management behind, Quintanilla Coates has helped reignite a local art show, co-painted a 1000-square foot mural for the City of Coquitlam and made art for major companies like M&M’s and the New York Times.
But one milestone has eluded her over the years: hosting a solo exhibit, an art show commonly considered a landmark for an emerging artist.
B.C. Supreme Court reinstates tenant after Port Moody co-op attempts eviction
A B.C. Supreme Court justice recently overturned a non-profit housing co-op’s efforts to evict a longtime tenant – in part because of a failure to knock on her door.
Hayley Myers had lived at the Noons Creek Housing Co-op for about 14 years when she fell behind on her rent, with the total arrears reaching $1,212 in March 2023.
Myers, who struggles with cognitive issues, acknowledged she was behind on her rent but agreed to pay all charges by June 30.
BC NDP run table in Tri-Cities
The B.C. NDP eked out a victory in October’s provincial election, eventually taking 47 of 93 ridings. However, it was an orange sweep in the Tri-Cities, with the NDP taking all five local ridings.
NDP candidate Jodie Wickens squeaked out a victory in Coquitlam-Burke Mountain by a margin of just 268 votes, or 1.2 percent.
Wickens thanked her supporters for putting countless hours into her campaign. “That means the world to me,” she said.
NDP incumbent Rick Glumac claimed victory in Port Moody-Burquitlam by a wide margin, edging a Conservative challenger by 11 percent.
In Port Coquitlam, Mike Farnworth, the NDP minister of public safety, won his eighth term in office.
Two-term SD43 school board trustee Jennifer Blatherwick won the Coquitlam–Maillardville riding, picking up 51.6 percent of votes cast.
Jennifer Whiteside, who serves as the minister of the mental health and addictions, handedly won re-election in New Westminster-Coquitlam with 58.9 percent of the vote.
New Port Moody bylaw can crack down on landlords who don’t maintain their building
Problem landlords could now be subject to fines from the City of Port Moody if tenants can prove their homes are unsafe or unhealthy to live in.
Council voted unanimously to adopt a standards of maintenance bylaw on Oct. 22 – the first in the city’s history.
• “A portion of our rental stock is in very poor condition,” said Coun. Amy Lubik, who helped pushed the city to adopt new rules. “This is critical for filling the gaps in legislation for renters.”
Robert Belding and elementary teacher Sonia McIntyre die following atmospheric river
A two-day search for a missing Quarry Road resident ended in tragedy on Sunday evening, as Aspenwood Elementary teacher Sonia McIntyre was found dead.
She was 57.
The search began after a midday mudslide rushed across Quarry Road and swept the McIntyre’s house away.
Heavy Urban Search and Rescue and Coquitlam Fire and Rescue led the search as an atmospheric river resulted in 200-millimetres of rainfall within 24 hours, causing unstable terrain in the area.
Emergency crews closed Quarry between Calgary Drive and MacIntyre Road.
“This is a deeply tragic outcome and our thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends,” Hodgins stated.
The search for Robert Belding also ended in tragedy as the body of the 59-year-old father was recovered from the Coquitlam River.
Searchers scoured the area around the river, using drones and dogs. While there was a plan to dispatch swift water teams, river levels and hazards remained a concern, according to a release from Coquitlam Search and Rescue.
Speaking to CBC, Coquitlam Search and Rescue search manager Ian MacDonald said Belding may have been trying to save a dog from the rushing Coquitlam River and fallen in. The dog was eventually found.
There were testimonials from dear friends and from casual acquaintances on social media, many of whom recalled Belding’s good nature, patience, and ever-present smile.
The recent three-day rainstorm resulted in more than 100 property owners in the Tri-Cities reporting flooding damage.
Coquitlam engineering staff described the atmospheric river as a once-in-200-year event which pushed the city’s infrastructure beyond its limits.
Daughter to celebrate pilot father’s 100th birthday by arranging a flyby
If all goes well on Friday afternoon, an aircraft will zip over Foster Avenue in Coquitlam and a 100-year-old man will look up and smile.
Before he was a father, a ballroom dancer, soccer coach, card counter and maybe the best strawberry famer in the Fraser Valley, Ronald (Roy) Henry Bailey was a tailgunner.
Bailey, who grew up in the Isle of Wight, was barely out of his teens when he boarded a Handley Page Halifax bomber to fly raids over Germany in the last years of the Second World War.
He joined up as soon as he was of age, noted his daughter, Daphne Russo.
“I’m pretty sure he would’ve liked to have been in there right from the get-go,” she said.
Carol Todd files lawsuit against Meta, TikTok and other social media platforms; accuses companies of targeting and exploiting youth
Warning: Disturbing content
Twelve years after the death of her daughter, Carol Todd filed a lawsuit that aims to protect young people from social media platforms that “exploit children and adolescents.”
Amanda Todd died by suicide after suffering extensive online sextortion and harassment. She was 15.
Filed in the Superior Court of California County of Los Angeles on Oct. 10, the lawsuit targets Meta – formerly Facebook – as well as Snap, TikTok, Google, YouTube, and Discord.
Todd is joined in the suit by 10 families, each of whom reported their children using social media platforms and subsequently suffering from depression and anxiety. In some cases teens were harassed and sextorted.
Speaking to CBC, Google said the lawsuit’s allegations aren’t true. A spokesperson for the company explained that its services are built with parental controls and provide age-appropriate experiences.
Meta
The lawsuit alleges the companies all marketed their products to children, quoting an internal email written sent from a Meta product designer which stated: “the young ones are the best ones. You want to bring people to your service young and early.”
‘It keeps me up at night’: Port Moody Police chief says force suffering from severe officer shortage
The Port Moody Police Department (PMPD) is dealing with an “unprecedented” vacancy rate, according to Chief David Fleugel.
Fleugel spoke on the department’s recruitment and retention woes during a police board presentation to the city’s finance committee, which sought a 9.8 percent ($1,460,000) increase to PMPD’s annual budget.
“I am very concerned about this . . . we have lost a huge number of officers.” he said. “Our vacancy rate . . . is as high as I’ve ever seen it, and it keeps me up at night.”
November
Investigation to target landlords collaborating on AI-enabled rent hikes
Three weeks after her concerns were essentially dismissed, Port Moody-Coquitlam MP Bonita Zarrillo is getting her investigation.
There’s a chance Canadian are being hit with rent hikes as landlords fix prices using artificial intelligence software, Zarrillo claimed earlier this month, raising the issue during question period in the House of Commons.
At the time, Zarrillo’s request to question the CEOs of major real estate investment firms was rebuffed, as Housing Minister Sean Fraser underscored the importance of upping the investment in affordable housing, adding: “If the NDP want to turn their mind to solutions, I’ll listen.”
It was a different story recently, as Minister of Innovation Francois-Philippe Champagne pledged to write to the Competition Bureau asking for an inquiry into what he called a “completely unacceptable” practice.
The issue received widespread attention in August when the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit, alleging software company RealPage took part in an: “unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords,” which “harms millions of Americans.”
‘Spectacular’ salmon return in the Tri-Cities this fall
It’s been a windfall salmon return, according to local streamkeepers.
Mossom Creek experienced its biggest salmon return in more than three decades, according to Ruth Foster, the vice president and co-founder of the Mossom Creek Hatchery and Education Centre.
They’ve counted more than 1,000 chum salmon, along with around 100 coho (although coho, a fast, athletic fish, are much harder to count) — a substantial increase from last year. They’ve also seen a few chinook salmon, a species the hatchery doesn’t raise and release.
“It’s been spectacular,” Foster said.
Port lockout set to end as feds order binding arbitration
Following an eight-day lockout, operations are set to resume at the port as the federal government again ended a labour-management impasse with an order for both parties to enter binding arbitration.
The BC Maritime Employers Association, which represents 49 waterfront employers, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union each demonstrated an “alarming lack of urgency” in reaching a new deal, according to federal Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon.
Speaking at a press conference broadcast by CPAC, MacKinnon described the state of negotiations as a total impasse.
“Today, we are still far from a deal,” he said. “Mediators determined that no path forward is possible based on the inflexibility on both sides.”
MacKinnon defended his order, emphasizing the effect the lockout was having farmers, small businesses and autoworkers. The work stoppage was also affecting Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner, he added.
FBI trails accused violent drug trafficker Ryan Wedding
An Olympic snowboarder accused of orchestrating murders while running a transnational drug trafficking enterprise is continuing to evade authorities.
The FBI recently released a new photo of Wedding in an effort to catch up to the former Coquitlam resident who should be considered armed and dangerous, according to a release from the FBI.
A previous photo distributed by the FBI was taken 11 years earlier for Wedding’s driver’s licence, according to reporting by CBC.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for the former Coquitlam resident on Sept. 17 in United States District Court. However, while many of his accused co-conspirators have been arrested in recent months, Wedding – who may be residing in Mexico – has avoided capture.
Nine new transitional housing units for refugees coming to Port Moody
Port Moody city council recently approved nine new non-market residential units — enough to accommodate approximately 36 people — as transition housing for refugees at a meeting Nov. 12.
House of Omeed, a local not-for-profit, applied to rezone their property at 2340 Clarke street to build the units above the existing charity. They were also approved for over $54,000 of development fee waivers and refunds, as well as $24,000 from the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund.
The charity helps newcomers to Port Moody settle by providing a range of services, from culturally appropriate food, to English classes, to paperwork assistance, to children’s programs, to a library.
Eagle Ridge Hospital emergency closure signs false: health authority
Multiple signs saying Eagle Ridge Hospital closed its emergency department due to overcapacity earlier this week are false, said Fraser Health.
The hospital and its emergency beds were open all day Monday despite rumours on social media, according to Amory Wong, senior communications consultant at Fraser Health.
“There was a sign that was not ours and we didn’t post,” Wong told The Dispatch. “It said our emergency department was turning people away, but it was not our sign and we did not post it.”
The signs began circulating on social media, declaring the emergency department at Eagle Ridge Hospital was closed due to a lack of bed space.
Port Moody buys two properties next to Kyle Park for future park expansion
Port Moody has purchased two old residential properties across the street from Kyle Park for a future park expansion.
The city announced their acquisition of the properties at 2506 and 2510 St. George Street through a news release Wednesday, disclosing the $5.9 million price tag.
Mayor Meghan Lahti said the purchase was a strategic decision made to help protect green space and future public use, in order to address a looming parkland deficit in the Moody Centre neighbourhood as it grows.
“Given the scarcity of available land suitable for park space, the city needs to monitor the market carefully and strive when possible to purchase lands as they become available,” Lahti said.
Payoff cash in 1992 murder-for-hire scheme finally forfeited
It was the middle of a summer afternoon in Surrey in 1992 when police approached a young man believed to have been involved in the murder of a Coquitlam woman.
As Milan Nenadic was handcuffed and searched, a package thumped to the ground. An officer told him he was arrested for possession of drugs.
“That’s not drugs,” Nenadic told police. “That’s money.”
There was $30,000 in the package.
Ioco residents say train whistling has become ‘unbearable’ and needs to be stopped
The amount of noise from train whistles along Ioco Road is “unbearable,” a group of concerned Port Moody residents say.
A delegation spoke before council on Nov. 26, presenting a petition signed by 65 residents living on Ioco, Sentinel, San Remo, Alderside and Bentley roads.
“Everybody is very upset with what’s happening,” said Rosemary Small, who led the delegation. “The noise levels are negatively impacting our health and the enjoyment of our homes.”
A farewell to the clockmaker who gave Maillardville its centrepiece
The clockmaker is gone but his work ticks on.
Head down Brunette Avenue and you’re struck by the site of a clock tower festooned with fleurs-de-lis. For many, that clock at once defines modern day Maillardville while providing a connection to the neighbourhood’s beginnings around a bustling, buzzing sawmill.
That clock, which includes a weathervane perched on a jewel inside the apparatus, was the work of horologist Raymond Saunders.
After a life spent crafting and curating timepieces, Saunders died last November. He was 84.
December
Port Moody slightly increases growth-related developer fees after 4 years of no updates
The City of Port Moody is upping their growth-related developer fees after four years of not keeping up with inflationary pressure.
On Nov. 29, council passed an interim 4.3 percent flat-rate increase to their development cost charges (DCC), effective immediately, ahead of a major update to the bylaw in 2025.
The city’s current bylaw went into effect at the start of 2020, but staff have missed the last three annual updates due shifting priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by work related to the new provincial housing legislation last year.
Terry Fox to be featured on $5 bill
He’s in our hearts, and soon he’ll be in our wallets.
The new $5 bill is set to feature an image of Terry Fox, according to the federal government’s 2024 fall economic statement released Monday.
The change was made to honour a Canadian hero and his effort to raise funding for cancer research through the Marathon of Hope, according to the statement.
“Through his efforts, the 22-year-old showed Canadians the difference that an ordinary person could make through sheer willpower and determination,” according to the statement.
Inlet Field officially renamed Bob Favelle Field after former soccer coach
Port Moody’s brand new Inlet Field has been officially renamed Bob Favelle Field, after an influential local soccer coach.
Favelle received a standing ovation at city council on Dec. 10, where he was recognized for his decades-long dedication to growing Port Moody’s soccer community.
Recalling when Mayor Meghan Lahti first phoned him with the news several weeks ago, Favelle described it as a “wonderful and humbling honour.”
“ Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be renaming of the park in my name,” he said. ”I went silent and teared up a bit. Just like now.”
Botox nurse ordered to pay $30k, face five-month professional suspension
A nurse who got Botox from someone who wasn’t a pharmacist and injected clients without a doctor present has been professionally reprimanded, following a recent decision from the B.C. College of Nurses & Midwives.
Roshanak Rahi, who operated out of a Westwood Plateau medical clinic, is facing a five-month suspension and has been ordered to pay the college $30,425 due to her “dangerous and dishonest” conduct, according to decision from the BCCNM’s discipline committee.
Rahi previously said there was “no proof” she bought Botox or injected anyone, an assertion the panel concluded was “wholly incorrect,” according to the ruling.
Rahi’s “Nurse Rosha” website listed Plateau Medical Clinic on its appointment page and advertised Botox and: “face vitamin filler” for $1,260, despite the clinic not offering cosmetic injections.
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