 Why there’s a new relationship between Vancouver and the B.C. government | | |  | | | It was the type of impossible-to-disprove claim fit for a politician.
“With Premier David Eby, Vancouver has its strongest partner in a generation,” tweeted Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, adding, “I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”
What had just happened right before Sim made this claim, less than a month into Eby being premier of the province? A $7 million commitment by the province to construct and operate two additional modular housing complexes.
In other words, there was an element of hyperbole in Sim’s comment — not the first time that’s happened on Twitter — but it could, in fact, become reality.
Consider: during the 1990s, Vancouver was run by a centre-right NPA party, while B.C. was governed by the NDP. After that, the B.C. Liberals and Vision Vancouver both found plenty of opportunities to make passive-aggressive snipes at one another for every issue under the sun.
A better dynamic was expected by many in 2018 after former NDP MP Kennedy Stewart became mayor. But despite an ideological alignment, it ended up being a fairly distant and formal relationship.Over the course of four years, the city found the province too focused on expanding its popularity in the suburbs and too slow on funding and approving the affordable housing it promised, while the province found the city too focused on issues outside its jurisdiction and too dysfunctional and paralyzed on core issues.
Now, however? Eby, a Vancouver MLA, is more motivated to show his commitment to Vancouver than Horgan ever did, given the provincial focus at the moment around affordable housing and the Downtown Eastside.
And Sim is motivated to show he can work with higher levels of government and has plenty of campaign commitments — such as hiring 100 new nurses — where speedy assistance from provincial authorities would go a long way.
It may be a marriage of convenience. But how long the good vibes last between the province and city — and what other announcements come as a result — will be one of the top municipal stories worth watching in 2023. | | |  | | | 1. Surrey | | | And one of the first municipal stories of 2023 will be in Surrey, where on Monday council did its 731st vote on policing (we exaggerate, only somewhat), approving the plan to stay under RCMP jurisdiction. It subsequently sent a report to Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth on its proposal, and whatever decision he ultimately makes will have reverberations for some time to come.
Read more | | |  | | | 3. Elections | | | | | | |  | | | 4. Metro Van | On Friday, Metro Vancouver initiated further legal action against Acciona, a construction company that was fired from its contract building a North Shore sewage plant. In the legal claim, it alleges an Acciona employee received confidential information via Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart. Rest assured, it's a story that will have plenty of implications.
Read more | | | |  | | | 5. Terrace | Oh Little Town of Terrace-hem, how still we see thee municipal Christmas controversy lie: city staff decided to end the tradition of the Knights of Columbus creating a nativity scene on the roof of city hall. The local paper has written a sternly-worded editorial — but we’ll spare you laboured metaphors over whether anyone deserves a lump of coal over this. Read more in the Terrace Standard | | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
forwarded to you. | | | | That's it for this 2022! We'll be back in the new year with new local government stories from across the province every week. In the meantime, check out the latest headlines at cbc.ca/bc and follow our municipal affairs reporter Justin McElroy on Twitter. And if you have any questions you might want answered in a future mailbag, drop Justin a line at metromatters@cbc.ca. | | | |
