Vancouver needs to keep jobs close at hand

Posted inIn the News

Byline: Don Cayo
Vancouver Sun
You can quibble about the details — and it is clear that some people are digging in to endlessly do so — but the nub of Mayor Sam Sullivan’s EcoDensity vision is a no-brainer.
This is an era where concerns such as the impact of urban traffic (and gridlock) on climate change, and the supply and cost of energy have rightly come to the fore. It makes complete sense to develop policies that allow and encourage people to live closer to where they work.
The EcoDensity discussion is focused on an important half of the equation — where people will live. But what about the other half? If we succeed in gracefully accommodating a lot more residents within the boundaries of the city, as I think we can, where on earth will they work?

B.C. government buys up hotels, buildings for homeless

Posted inIn the News

STEVE MERTL
Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — The B.C. government has quietly bought up more than a dozen fleabag hotels and other properties as part of a plan to curb rising homelessness in Canada’s most expensive real estate market.
Community activists have led a rising clamour that owners of so-called single-room-occupancy hotels want to cash in on the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics by converting their buildings to house tourists.
The expected wave of evictions will exacerbate Vancouver’s already serious homelessness problem, critics say.
The Pivot Legal Society estimates hotel conversions have already led to some 700 evictions.

Homelessness plan for Vancouver gets green light

Posted inIn the News

Source: CBC News
Vancouver city council approved in principle a homelessness strategy in which the city would donate a dozen parcels of land worth $50 million for the development of 1,500 low-cost apartments.
The report, co-authored by Ken Dobell, a top aide to Premier Gordon Campbell and a former city manager, calls on the province to spend $48 million a year to build and maintain the small housing units for low-income singles.

New funding for social housing units the largest in recent history, says Mayor Sullivan

Posted inIn the News

Mayor Sam Sullivan today applauded provincial budget investments in social housing that will play a key role in helping Vancouver meet the Project Civil City target of reducing homelessness by more than 50% by 2010.

“This is the largest investment in social housing in recent history,” said Mayor Sullivan. “Clearly, the concerns I raised in Victoria related to homelessness and affordable housing have been heard and acted upon.”

National editorial urges Canadian cities to adopt EcoDensity

Posted inIn the News

‘It’s time to talk about urban density’

In an editorial in the February 13th National Post newspaper, Mayor Sam Sullivan is calling on municipalities as well as senior levels of government to open the debate on increasing urban density as a way to address global climate change.

“Instead of telling Canadians to simply check the air pressure in their tires to ensure better mileage, or put energy efficient light bulbs in their suburban homes, we should also be talking about how better urban planning and densification of our cities can significantly reduce our impact on the environment,” Mayor Sullivan writes.

Federal funds spare aboriginal groups

Posted inIn the News

Source: The Globe and Mail
Byline: Mark Hume

The federal government has closed a funding gap that threatened to shut down non-profit aboriginal groups providing 15,000 shelter beds and feeding 2,000 families annually in British Columbia.

“The government has agreed to a six-month extension of existing projects, which was very nice,” Patrick Stewart, chairman of the Aboriginal Homelessness Steering Committee, said yesterday.

“And what that means is it will give us six months of continued existing services while we work out the new terms and conditions and do proposal calls [for a new two-year contract].

“So it looks like we’ll get the seamless transition we were looking for.”

Mayor Sullivan promotes EcoDensity in national editorial

Posted inIn the News

“It’s time to talk about urban density”

National Post
February 13, 2007
national post coverAs mayor of one of Canada’s biggest cities, Vancouver, I am frustrated with the nature of the debate on global climate change in this country.

Over the past several months, I have watched as environmental organizations, government agencies and the media provide advice on how Canadians can make small changes to our lifestyles, yet continue living in a fundamentally unsustainable fashion.

Instead of telling Canadians to simply check the air pressure in their tires to ensure better mileage, or put energy efficient light bulbs in their suburban homes, we should be talking about how better urban planning and densification of our cities can significantly reduce our impact on the environment.

Downtown Vancouver BIA backs Mayor’s Substitution Treatment Plan

Posted inIn the News

The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) is endorsing in principle Mayor Sam Sullivan’s concept of a Substitution Treatment research project to help deal with some of Vancouver’s street crime issues.

“We’ve seen decreases in street crime, open drug use and aggressive panhandling downtown thanks to enhanced police beat patrols,” says DVBIA president Bill Rempel. “But the police can’t be everywhere all the time. We need to find long-term solutions that address the root causes of these issues. That’s why we applaud Mayor Sullivan’s goals to reduce these problems and his willingness to try innovative solutions to make it happen.”