Frankly Speaking

A smiling Dave Barrett is an apt image of the former premier and longtime NDP MLA, and NDP MP for one term. He had a passion for politics, but he also had a wonderful sense of humour and was the most entertaining politician on the stump that I've ever seen in B.C. Dave Barrett was remembered at two public memorial events last weekend, in Victoria and Vancouver. Barrett, who died at the age of 87 in early February, was B.C.’s first NDP premier. He headed a government that was in office for just under three and one-half years, from 1972 to 1975. It was a “government in a hurry,” passing 357 bills in its few years in office and ushering in an era of remarkable change in B.C. Some of its most significant achievements have been commented on extensively, most frequently the establishment of the Agricultural Land Reserve, the creation of ICBC, bringing Hansard and question period to the provincial legislature and one of the first pharmacare programs in Canada. Not much at...

Frank Bucholtz photo A stump is all that remains of a mature cedar tree that stood on property owned by Tara Ridge Estates. This is a very brief post. Time is pressing and I simply don't have enough of it to study all aspects of this issue, which I just learned of yesterday. A large grove of mature trees has been cleared from property owned by Tara Ridge Estates, adjacent to 76 Avenue in Willoughby. The northwest portion of this site (about eight hectares) is being proposed for exclusion from Agricultural Land Reserve, in order to allow for construction of the 212 Street connector and development of the remaining land. The connector is partially built and will connect Willoughby to the new 216 interchange on Highway 1. The trees were cut some time ago, but it is clear there were many very mature ones on the site. No trees have been left standing. Given that the land is within the ALR, any tree preservation bylaws would not apply. To the best of my knowledge, the land has ...

Photo from National Observer First Nations people in B.C. and across the country aren't too excited about the Canada 150 celebrations, as most of them do not have treaties. Many of them (but not all) feel planned developments such as Kinder Morgan's proposed twinning of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline will do significant damage to the lands they and their ancestors have called home for thousands of years. Despite years of favourable court rulings, governments have dragged their feet on treaties and other means of making First Nations people feel they are an integral and valued component of the Canadian mosaic. Canada turns 150 years old this week.   Celebrations of this milestone have been somewhat muted, when compared to the 100 th anniversary in 1967 which captured the attention and interest of nearly all Canadians and many people in other countries. It is worthwhile to remember what this country has achieved, look at where it is going and consider changes to ...

Bill Bennett’s time as premier of B.C. ended almost 30 years ago, in the summer of 1986. The era in which he governed is a distant memory to some. For others, it was long before their time. Bennett died on Dec. 3 at the age of 83. He had been mostly out of the public spotlight since leaving the premier’s office. However, his 10 and one half-years as premier led to B.C. truly entering the modern era that we are part of today. It turned B.C. into much more than a resource-based economy, and the province’s political apparatus also changed dramatically. These changes had a significant effect on Surrey, Delta and White Rock. Decisions made by his government still have a direct effect on this region. The biggest single change came as a result of two related decisions - the decision to host a world’s fair called Expo 86 on former rail yard land in downtown Vancouver, and the decision to build a rapid transit line called SkyTrain. Expo was controversial. A number of politicians an...

Speakers at a housing forum sponsored by the Urban Development Institute brought a measure of common sense to the often-overheated rhetoric about housing prices in Metro Vancouver. As they pointed out, the price of townhouses and condominium apartments in the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board area (which includes Surrey and Langley) has actually fallen since 2008. Only the price of detached homes is rising. The significant change is the development of a two-tier market. There is one market for detached homes, no matter what size the lot, and another for multi-family units. The gap between the two has risen from $200,000 in 2009 to between $300,000 and $400,000 today. It continues to widen. In some ways, this should not be a surprise. Ever since the Agricultural Land Reserve was created in 1972, there have been significant limits on land available for urban development. Up until recent years, there has been enough supply available. But that has changed. Much of Surrey has been develope...