Wokeness is killing Vancouver

Wokeness is killing VancouverDrug overdose deaths approaching 2,000 annually Does passive policing and harm reduction improve health and safety? Vancouver is a living, breathing example to the contrary – or perhaps more like a dying, gasping person. In his film Vancouver is Dying, Aaron Gunn demonstrates the rot of addiction and criminality that is destroying one of Canada’s…

Three potential solutions to Vancouver’s downtown east side

Three potential solutions to Vancouver’s downtown east sideFewer than 100 individuals generate almost all the burden placed on emergency services Chatham House Rules – a system for holding debates and discussion panels on controversial topics – were named after the headquarters of the UK Royal Institute of International Affairs, which is based in Chatham House, London. The rule originated in June 1927.…

Housing affordability lies at the very heart of inequality

Government land-use regulations a principal source of this inequality

Housing affordability lies at the very heart of inequalityCanada’s housing affordability crisis is a matter of considerable concern, especially for young people trying to buy a house. The worst problems are in the Vancouver and Toronto markets with their excessive land-use regulation. Extensive international research associates stronger land-use regulation with diminished housing affordability. Vancouver and Toronto are experiencing substantial net migration of people…

Policy restrictions have caused the housing crisis

Urban containment regulations on the urban fringe must be relaxed

Policy restrictions have caused the housing crisisFor 18 years, I have been monitoring international housing affordability as author or co-author of the Demographia Housing Affordability series. The latest edition rates 92 major markets in eight nations using the “median multiple”: the median house price in a place divided by the median pre-tax household income. In the early 1990s, median multiples in…

Vancouver gas hits $2 per litre and taxes are a big factor

Living in B.C. is unaffordable for many people and carbon taxes make it worse

Vancouver gas hits $2 per litre and taxes are a big factorDrivers in Vancouver are paying record-smashing prices at the gas pump and taxes are an extra kick in the head. Prices have hit more than $2 per litre for regular gasoline in Metro Vancouver. That’s the highest gasoline price in North America, along with the highest gasoline taxes. Before chuckling at the pipeline-blocking-moon-units getting their…

Record-breaking Vancouver gas prices heading your way

And taxes are a big part of the problem

Record-breaking Vancouver gas prices heading your wayThe price at the gas pumps has hit a record-breaking $1.82 per litre in Vancouver. That’s the most expensive gasoline in North America. While some readers in Winnipeg and Calgary might chuckle at the karma coming back to bite a city whose mayor personally blocked the building of pipelines, it’s important to remember that bad…

The rise of smiley-face environmental terrorism

There’s no telling what these extremists will do. We need to crack down on this danger now

The rise of smiley-face environmental terrorismThere’s no doubt summer 2021 was a scorcher around the world. The United Kingdom’s Met Office revealed that temperatures exceeded 30C in September for only the seventh time in history. In Vancouver, 2021 was the second hottest summer ever recorded, with daily average temperatures at Vancouver International Airport reaching 18.9C in June, July and August.…

How to create more affordable housing to meet rising demand

Housing regulations often limit people to Tesla-level homes or nothing

How to create more affordable housing to meet rising demandI’m an economist, so I’m not flattered by those who say you could teach a parrot to be an economist. The bird would need to know only two words, the joke goes: supply and demand. When the supply of any good or service increases, its price goes down. If the supply decreases or is less…

ConnecTour Chronicles: One man’s gear is another man’s gold

Across from our campsite sat a gangly young man named Scott, who had been homeless for 10 years and was trying to find some normalcy

ConnecTour Chronicles: One man’s gear is another man’s goldLisa Montforton is part of a group of Canadians who call themselves ConnecTour. Starting on May 28 in Kelowna, B.C. (B.C. travel restrictions derailed a planned start in Victoria), they hope to make an 8,000-km journey across the country, discovering how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives and our sense of community. Watch for…

Why do city planners put bicycles ahead of people?

People who don’t have yards or nearby open spaces should come before bicyclists

Why do city planners put bicycles ahead of people?Vancouver city council is considering a motion this week to turn sections of Granville Street and Commercial Drive into European-style pedestrian-friendly malls by reducing or eliminating automobile access. This is described as putting people over cars. Reducing car traffic leads to cleaner air and quieter neighbourhoods – good things. Some local businesses will benefit. But…
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