I’m not an architect or a planner but I am a resident who has had the good fortune to live in my Dunbar neighborhood for almost 25 years. We’ve raised our two boys here and we love the area, but I do not like what I see. I’m not talking about the demolition of older [...]
As you know I did not seek re-election to the park board, instead choosing to take a step back and focus on career and family. On November 19th the voters of Vancouver gave Vision Vancouver a resounding mandate to continue governing for three more years. To the candidates who ran and were not successful, the [...]
NPA Park Commissioner and former Park Board Chair Ian Robertson announced today that he will not be a candidate in the upcoming civic election to be held in November 2011. “I am very proud of what I have accomplished over the past six years as a Park Commissioner in Vancouver”, says Robertson. “I was motivated [...]
I had planned on attending and speaking at the special Council meeting to discuss the 2011 operating budget. Unplanned and extended business travel at the last minute (I was in Toronto on business) prevented me from returning on time to attend the meeting. Below is my e-mail sent to Mayor and Council on the morning [...]
Under Vision Vancouver’s watch, cuts to the park board budget have been $5.3 million which is over four times more than the previous three boards combined. I understand that we are in challenging economic times however when surveyed, Vancouver residents rank park board services as one of the top three departments that they do not [...]
Congratulations to Little Mountain Baseball Club and their win this past weekend at the BC Little League Championship that was played out at Moody Park in New Westminster. Little Mountain will represent BC and head off to the Canadian Little League Championship being held in Ancaster, ON. A win there and they are off to the “show”, [...]
Last Monday July 19 Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon brought forward a motion to hold a plebiscite on cetaceans in captivity in November 2011. The motion failed 5-2 with my vote being one of the five. I’m not using this space to debate the pros and cons of cetaceans in captivity – lots has and will continue to [...]
At the Park Board’s Services and Budget Committee meeting on July 20, staff reviewed two proposals to retain the Bloedel Conservatory. One from LMTP Inc. and the other from Friends of the Bloedel (FOTB) and the Van Dusen Gardens Society (VDGS). Both have plusses and minuses but at the end of the day, the committee [...]
Kudos to the Federal Government, Treasury Board President Stockwell Day and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore for stepping in to swiftly bring the debate of changing the name of Stanley Park to an end. As I said on the Bill Good Show on Monday morning this issue had the potential to divide the city and [...]
At the official opening of the Klahowya Village in Stanley Park a First Nations member remarked on the possibility of changing the name of Stanley Park to Xwayxway (pronounced kwhykway). What a bad idea. Now anyone who knows me will tell you I am one of the most tolerant people around but this name change thing [...]
