Year in Review, part 4
The last few months of 2023 was tumultuous.
Hall turned against Oates (or vice-versa), pandas were de-gifted, Charles was put in charge (and on money), and Sports Illustrated got caught dipping its pen in the AI. Closer to home, we meditated on the difference between a meeting and a gathering and bid a fond farewell to colleague and competitor Diane Strandberg.
The Dalai Lama apparently blessed a North Vancouver home.
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In response, we very briefly went into the house-blessing business, offering to have homes blessed by the Dolly Llama. (He’s this dude who sings “Jolene” while wearing an alpaca costume.)
Now, yesterday’s news.
Coquitlam Public Library shelves Drag Queen Storytime due to safety concerns from anti-SOGI protests
The Coquitlam Public Library decided to postpone Saturday’s Drag Queen Storytime event due to public safety concerns associated with anti-sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) education protests planned.
Another “1 Million March 4 Children” protest, which has united a mix of far-right, conspiratorial and religious ideologues across the country, planned to disrupt the library’s event.
They appear to have triggered enough safety concerns for library administrators to shelve the Oct. 21’s storytime, at least temporarily.
Lawsuits plagued Port Moody brewery prior to bankruptcy order
The Fraser Mills Brewery in Port Moody suddenly closed after the Bank of Canada sought a court order seeking repayment of its loan.
The bank is not the only business which has been hounding the brewery for money. Fraser Mills has been subject to four civil suits by other businesses since it opened its doors in 2020.
Local residents expressed surprise and sadness on social media on Wednesday after learning of the closure through a bankruptcy and receivership notice posted on the popular establishment located on the 3000 block of St. Johns Street.
The Fraser Mills Fermentation Company Ltd., and its parent company Beyond the Grape on Premises Wine Ltd., are indebted over $750,000 to the Business Development Bank of Canada stemming from a loan granted in 2019, according to court documents.
PoCo lacrosse exhibits thinks inside the box
They knew the words “box” and “lacrosse.” They’d just never heard them together.
Lacrosse was a genteel pastime played on a field, a slice of high society on par with finger sandwiches and not knowing your butler’s first name. It was, well, ladylike.
Reflecting on her hall of fame lacrosse career, Port Coquitlam’s Michelle Bowyer smiled as she talked about the people she’d played with and the titles she won. She seemed happiest, however, when recalling an early trip to Stanford University.
“The women down there had never seen box lacrosse,” she explained.
As a bit of a cultural exchange, Bowyer and her teammates got in the Stanford University gym for a demonstration.
The checks were hard. Bodies flew. The ball zipped around the court with the velocity of a schoolyard rumour.
Bowyer grinned when she described the sight of the crowd and: “the look of horror on their faces.”
That was box lacrosse.
RCMP officer slain, 2 others wounded following shootout; suspect charged with murder
A tragedy occurred in Coquitlam which ended with two RCMP officers and one suspect being shot. One officer died of his injuries on scene, while the rest were all taken to hospital with serious injuries.
RCMP Commissioner Dwayne McDonald eventually identified the slain officer as Const. Rick O’Brien. He was 51.
“This is an extremely difficult and tragic day for our members,” McDonald said. “To say that today has been a struggle is an understatement. “The RCMP family is gutted.”
Exhibit marks the 100th anniversary of the ‘culmination of anti-Chinese racism’
This long-read examines the racism and resilience of the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act. The current exhibit at the Coquitlam library City Centre branch is set to close on Friday.
John Ko Bong was an old man when he reached for a memory from 60 years earlier.
In the early days of the Second World War the Canadian military was signing up all the recruits they could get. But in Vancouver’s Chinese community there was a split, Ko Bong recalled.
“Are we going to fight . . . side by side with the Canadians? Or are we going to sit on the fence and let the Canadian boys do the fighting for us, eh?” he asked with a chuckle.
Signs promoting ‘whites-only’ playgroup in Tri-Cities condemned by Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam
The cities of Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam have condemned signage promoting a “whites only” moms and tots group, which appeared in the Tri-Cities over the weekend.
One sign was posted to the Port Coquitlam bus stop on the 2600 block of Shaughnessy Street, with a link to a Telegram chatroom.
On Monday, Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West said bylaw officers scoured the areas around other bus stops to remove other potential signs, but none were found.
“This vile garbage isn’t welcome in our community, or anywhere else,” West said. “The City of Port Coquitlam condemns this in the strongest terms and promotes an environment without hate.”
Virtual world teaches Tri-Cities students about Indigenous history
To learn important lessons from the past, start playing video games.
That’s the message teachers across the Tri-Cities are telling their students this fall.
School District #43, in partnership with the Kwikwetlem First Nation, has unveiled a new initiative that allows students to learn about Indigenous history in Minecraft, a popular online game that allows players to build worlds one block at a time.
The new Minecraft game mode, A Pacific Northwest Coast Experience, places students in a coastal community that is preparing for winter.
The game was eventually made available worldwide.
Coronation Park development approved following contentious public hearing
Port Moody’s Coronation Park development passed the final reading of council after more than four years of negotiations with the city.
The public hearing ahead of council’s vote on Oct. 3 lasted close to three hours, and brought out 38 speakers, along with 15 letters, voicing support, concerns or opposition to the proposal.
Mayor Meghan Lahti said she heard many conflicting opinions at the hearing, and it reminded her of similar opposition over developments in Newport Village and Suter Brook.
“(Residents) were afraid it was going to change the feel of this neighborhood, it was going to change Port Moody. Port Moody isn’t just about buildings, it’s about people, it’s about community” Lahti said. “We don’t always have to agree. In fact, it’s not the best thing if we all agree.”
Prior to the public hearing, Port Moody-Coquitlam MLA Rick Glumac suggested the Coronation Park project be reconfigured. By reducing the development’s 2,845 parking spots, Glumac reasoned, money saved on construction costs could be put toward building affordable housing.
Lahti addressed Glumac’s action’s in a letter to Premier David Eby.
Glumac’s letter had the: “potential to create unnecessary fear and doubt in our community with respect to this project which could have led to further delays for this approval process,” Lahti wrote.
Illegal meeting or informal gathering? Last-ditch attempt to derail Port Moody’s Coronation Park Development wades into murky municipal rules
The Coronation Park development may have passed rezoning, but opposition is not dead.
Calls for an investigation into an allegedly illegal meeting, held between a majority of council and the developer, have been made in what may be a last-ditch effort to halt Wesgroup Properties’ six-tower project.
Supporters on social media see it as the opposition’s final death rattle.
The allegation was first raised at the public hearing on Oct. 3 by resident Jeff Poste, a supporter of the former council’s slow-development slate. He stated he had emails showing four members of council illegally met with Brad Jones,
Wesgroup’s senior Vice President of Development in November 2022.
Poste said he was disturbed by what he described as a “secret, off-the-books” discussion which demonstrated a “gross violation of public trust.”
‘We absolutely will be rebuilding Hazel Trembath;’ School district looks to future after fire guts elementary school
With hazardous fumes lingering over the burned-out shell of Hazel Trembath, School District #43 shifted the entire student population to Winslow Centre.
A fire swept through the Confederation Drive school after 3 a.m. on Saturday morning, engulfing the structure and leaving the elementary school in ruins. Police consider the blaze suspicious, according to a release from Coquitlam RCMP.
The fire left students, teachers, and neighbours “shocked and devastated,” said school district board chair Michael Thomas.
“This is just such a tragic loss for this small, tight-knit community,” Thomas said.
Police later said it would be months before they could reach any conclusions regarding the fire.
Homelessness in Tri-Cities rises 86% in three years, report shows
The latest snapshot of homelessness in the Tri-Cities illustrates a worsening situation in terms of both multitude and severity.
Conducted last March, Greater Vancouver’s 2023 Point-in-Time Homeless Count found homelessness in the Tri-Cities to be at an all-time high based on seven homeless counts taken over the past 18 years.
Volunteers counted 160 homeless people in the Tri-Cities, 74 more people than in 2020. That figure includes people staying in shelters and emergency weather beds.
In the 2005 homeless count, volunteers found 40 homeless people in the Tri-Cities.
The Tri-Cities situation is emblematic of what is an increasingly regional issue, according to Tri-Cities Homelessness and Housing Task Group co-chair Keir MacDonald.
Homelessness is not just a Downtown Eastside or even just a Vancouver problem, Macdonald said, adding that the report “knocks you over the head with that information.”
Biggest development in Port Coquitlam gets green light
The biggest project in Port Coquitlam crossed its final hurdle.
One year after it was formally approved, council adopted the zoning bylaw that will allow construction to start on two approximately 300-foot tall towers and 556 housing units on six lots at Westwood Street and Woodland Drive.
Despite coming before council during election season and representing the greatest amount of densification the city has seen, the project was not particularly controversial, noted Coun. Darrell Penner on Oct. 10.
“The only person to speak against it was a lady from Coquitlam that wanted to save the trees because she liked to come down here to walk because the city she lived in, they took the trees down.”
Port Coquitlam denies $35k tax break for The Alex over safety concerns
An affordable rental project that provides housing for marginalized women and families will not get a $34,658 tax exemption from Port Coquitlam, city council decided.
The Alex on Prairie Avenue – operated by Atira Women’s Resource Society – was the subject of some “very serious concerns” regarding safety in the building, Mayor Brad West said in the meeting.
“I’m not at all satisfied with the status quo and with the operator’s apparent lack of attention and seriousness to this issue,” West said.
West also emphasized the vulnerability of the tenants.
“If the city is able to lend its voice to those residents of our community and get those concerns taken seriously . . . then I think we have an obligation to do that,” West said.
Coquitlam to pay $5.8 million to keep co-ops; mayor ‘disgusted’ with feds
They’ll pay, but they’re not happy about it.
Coquitlam council unanimously – and unhappily – voted to put $5.8 million toward helping a non-profit developer buy and keep 290 co-op units at the 2800-block of Packard Avenue.
Both the Tri-Branch and Garden Court housing co-operatives were built with federal funding in the 1980s. However, the federal funding has since dried up and there has been “no investment” from senior levels of government, a fact that rankled Mayor Richard Stewart.
“I’m disgusted that we are bailing out the federal government for a mistake they made,” Stewart said.
Pay Parking model to be implemented in Port Moody by summer
Pay Parking is coming to Port Moody.
On Oct. 17, council voted 6-1 in favour of introducing a pay parking model into the city, which is expected to be implemented before summer, 2024.
“This is not a pilot project, this is the beginning of pay parking in our community,” said Coun. Diana Dilworth. “That’s going to be a challenge for many of our residents to grapple with.”
PoCo council reverses previous decision, approves Grant Avenue daycare
They may not have changed their minds, but most of Port Coquitlam council changed their votes.
Two weeks after council voted 5-1 to reject a 65-space Grant Avenue childcare facility, Mayor Brad West used his authority as mayor to have the matter reconsidered.
West, who was absent from the decisive vote, emphasized that while public hearings might be important, they are not necessarily decisive.
“Publics hearings should not be intended in any way, shape or form to be representative of broad public opinion in Port Coquitlam.”
In a lengthy speech, West noted both the “great need” for childcare as well as city policy encouraging childcare centres in residential neighbourhoods.
During the public hearing, neighbours voiced a series of criticisms, including increased noise, depressed property values, roving wildlife and “unfamiliar individuals” threatening neighbourhood safety.
“There were, I think, comments that have no basis in reality or any factual underpinning to them,” West said.
Gates Park project to cost $15 million, seat 1,200, and make PoCo ‘the premier sports city’ in B.C.
Rising costs haven’t brought down high spirits as Port Coquitlam council forges ahead on a FIFA-level soccer pitch, plaza and fieldhouse at Gates Park.
Besides swapping out the park’s frequently muddy grass field for synthetic turf, the $15-million project is set to include a grandstand, field lighting, a road along the south side of the park and parking.
The facility, “will put Port Coquitlam very much on the map as the premier sports city in this province,” Mayor Brad West said on Tuesday.
MP’s request for more consultation on flight paths was rejected
The consultation here is terrible. And such small portions.
Port Moody-Coquitlam MP Bonita Zarrillo criticized NAV Canada recently for what she called “inadequate” consultation over a change in flight paths that would put more planes over portions of the Tri-Cities.
Speaking in parliament, Zarrillo discussed the aviation industry’s “voluntary protocol” for community consultation.
“I am here to tell the government that the voluntary protocol did not meet the standards of consultation in my community,” Zarrillo said.
How this Tri-Cities couple opened B.C.’s first non-alcoholic bar
When the clock struck two in the morning, Racquel Foran sprung from her bed.
She finally had an idea. The idea.
For the majority of their relationship, she hoped to start a business with her husband, Jim, who had spent 25 years working for a technology company. Foran, meanwhile, had carved out her own path through self-employment: running an office support business, freelance writing, and publishing a national dance magazine.
But they could never find something they were both passionate about.
She longed to start a café. He wanted to start a popcorn food truck. She toyed with the idea of launching a mobile flower cart, however, there was one business idea in particular that demanded a sober second thought.
Sasamat camp’s summer jobs funding was cut in half, director tells House of Commons committee
Sasamat Outdoor Centre was a few months from getting the canoes in the water for their 2023 summer camps when they were informed their subsidy would be cut by about $75,000.
The outdoor centre, which offers activities like archery, rock climbing and shelter building for campers between the ages of 4 and 15, typically receives a subsidy from the Canada Summer
Jobs program, according to Sasamat Outdoor Centre operations manager Ben Quinn.
“This year, we were hit with another financial hurdle when we received our funding from Canada summer jobs, it was, unexpectedly, less than half of what we had received in the previous year and about half of what our average funding amount has been in the last five years,” Quinn said.
Strikes lead to 75 percent drop in Coquitlam film productions; city mulls studio space
After previous years of lights and cameras, inaction has dominated Coquitlam’s motion picture industry recently, due to both the pandemic as well as two significant labour strikes.
The city issued a total of 307 film permits in 2018 and 2019. In 2023, Coquitlam has so far issued 37 permits.
This year’s productions have added up to $82,544 for the city – less than half of the total revenue from 2022.
Strikes from both the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild led to a “significant short-term drop in production spending,” according to a city staff report.
Port Moody officially removes heritage designation from Belcarra South Cottages
Port Moody has withdrawn the heritage protections from the Belcarra South Cottages, save the Bole House, likely leading to their future destruction.
The vote was unanimous at council on Nov. 7, which followed a public hearing on the decision.
“I don’t think we’re erasing history, but we’re adding to it,” said Coun. Samantha Agtarap. “With the restoration of the Bole cottage, I do believe that the intention of Metro Vancouver . . . and Tsleil-Waututh Nation is to incorporate it into future plans.”
The six rustic cabins sit on the western shores of Belcarra Regional Park and represent some of the last remaining examples in Metro Vancouver of summer vacation cottages in use during the early 20th century.
B.C. looks to boost density around transit hubs, possibly signalling big changes near Moody Centre
Legislation introduced by the province Thursday could mean significant changes regarding density around transit hubs.
While most SkyTrain stations in the Tri-Cities have zoning that permits higher densities, many single-family housing blocks would also be upzoned under the new rules.
Municipalities would be required to create transit oriented development (TOD) areas in an 800 metre radius around every rapid transit station, according to the release.
These TOD areas would come with a set of provincial standards, forcing minimum standards for height and density allowances.
“Layers of regulations and outdated rules are stopping this kind of development from becoming a reality in too many municipalities,” said Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon.
B.C.’s new housing rules could have ‘enormous unintended consequences,’ warns Coquitlam mayor
Some of the province’s attempts to assuage the housing affordability crisis could be ineffective or even counterproductive, according to Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart.
A “one-size fits all” approach to housing could result in “enormous unintended consequences,” according to Stewart.
Allowing four units on a lot may lead to a population increase in neighbourhoods without the necessary infrastructure or the school capacity, Stewart said.
There is also the issue of adding cars without adding parking spots.
“The parking wars, I think, are something every local government tries to avoid,” Stewart said, adding that the municipality’s efforts would largely be “out the window.”
Province’s TOD project looks to swap Moody Centre’s parking space for housing units
The province’s recently announced transit oriented development (TOD) project in Port Moody appears to be swapping Moody Centre Station’s parking stalls for housing units.
A total five parcels on Spring Street would be developed for the two-acre project the province has proposed, which accounts for the majority of the station’s parking (approximately 150 stalls).
News of the project was released on Monday, Nov. 27, with the province promising “hundreds of rental units, child care spaces, health-care services, educational opportunities and retail space.”
Tri-Cities hatcheries report best Coho return in years
Some Tri-Cities fish hatcheries are reporting the best Coho return in years, while others are reporting the best return in decades.
While spawning surveyors won’t be finished with their fish counts until the end of December, the hatchery workers are encouraged about the number of returning salmon.
Dave Bennie, a volunteer with Noons Creek Hatchery for 25 years, said the coho have been coming: “in piles.”
“I don’t remember having one this big. This is one of the biggest returns of coho I’ve ever seen in the creek,” Bennie said. “I’m looking right outside the hatchery now and I can probably see 20.”
500-foot Fraser Mills tower to rise; Coquitlam targets 2024 for new neighbourhood’s parks planning
The development permit on a 47-storey Fraser Mills tower is signed, sealed and set to be delivered.
Coquitlam council gave their final approval on Monday for a 462-unit, 509-foot tall tower at 73 Millside Street across the street from Ghuman Place. That approval clears the way for construction to begin on the Fraser Mills tower.
Located on 37 hectares east of Ikea and south of Maillardville, the Fraser Mills development is set to include 16 towers ranging from 29 to 49 storeys.
City of Coquitlam forcing developer to hire outside geotechnical engineer following dramatic collapse of shoring wall
The City of Coquitlam is requiring a developer to hire a third-party geotechnical engineer following the collapse of a shoring wall at their construction site last week.
The north shoring wall at 500 Foster Ave. failed last week. A video of the collapse was uploaded to social media and reported widely across local media.
Friday’s update from the city explained that, although it is not standard practice to force hiring a outside geotechnical engineer, the requirement would be “an added precaution” for oversight and remediation purposes.
City grant to keep tree walks moving
The walk may be a little longer yet.
For decades, the Riverview Horticultural Society has provided tours of the trees at səmiq̓ʷəʔelə ((suh-Mee-kwuh-El-uh), previously known as the Riverview Lands. The future of the walk seemed to be in jeopardy earlier this year when B.C. Housing announced the society would be expected to pay for special events permits beginning in 2024.
However, a recent grant from the City of Coquitlam will allow the organization to continue leading those walks, according to a statement from the RHCS board.
“Without this grant we would be very hard-pressed to continue our tree walks,” the board stated.
Transformative Anmore project takes small, significant step forward
Despite strong objections from many residents, Anmore Village council voted Tuesday to advance a project that – if ultimately approved – would reshape 152 acres of the community.
“This is, by far, one of the most important decisions Anmore will ever make,” cautioned resident Ray Houle.
Developer Icona Properties has proposed a 25-year project including approximately 3,300 new homes spread over the southwestern portion of the village.
Tuesday’s 4-1 council vote represents the first step in a process slated to include a public hearing and a subsequent council vote on amending the village’s Official Community Plan, clearing the way for a formal development application.
There is no way to allow access for thousands of new residents, “Without impacting every single resident in a negative way, especially in regards to traffic,” Houle said, suggesting it was “outrageous” to move forward without a referendum.
Eagle Ridge Hospital to have new AI tech installed to help catch colon cancer early
Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody is one of several hospitals installing new artificial intelligence (AI) technology to better screen patients for colon cancer.
On Dec. 11, Fraser Health announced a $1.2 million investment to purchase and install GI Genius, an advanced early detection system, into 12 Lower Mainland Hospitals.
“This is a huge benefit for our patients,” says Dr. Scott Cowie, a surgeon with Langley Memorial Hospital. “By detecting and treating polyps early, we’re reducing the risk of missed findings and improving the quality of life for people in our region.”
GI Genius is a computer-aided system that will be used by medical professionals during colonoscopies to improve the chance of catching and removing precancerous lesions.
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