I'm very curious about something and it has my mind boggled. Switch over parking from one side to the other and parking tickets. So today I get a ticket in my car at 9:10am as I am walking to my car. He is ticketing all cars that haven't moved to the other side. So I speak with him and say why would you be doing this when it is 9 in the morning and some people haven't even got up yet... Work schedules etc. He says don't ask me... Thy tell us to and then you can go down and get it cancelled. I'm confused at this point and he says yup. You have a valid parking tag in your windshield and if it's before noon you can have it canceled. So at this point I become increasingly angry (not at him) because basically what he is telling me is that they are pumping out these tickets at 50 bucks a pop and you only need to send it in or go there to have it cancelled. How many tax payer dollars are being wasted on this pathetic practice?! Let's see. There are thousands of cars being ticketed every switch over morning and hundreds or parking enforcement officers doing it and then the car owner can go get it cancelled so there is manpower there doing that side of it. He shook his head and said it makes no sense as bylaw says ticket and city says we will cancel it. What the actual heck??? This is insane to me that our tax dollars are being spent on staffing this. Absolutely nuts!!! It says right on the site that you can have a noon grace to have it cancelled. Doesn't anyone fine this infuriating?!?! Place a noon deadline bylaw and no forgiveness. The end!!! Unbelievable ... Millions of Tax dollars wasted! And we sit back and allow this to happen!! Outrageous!

Chinatown is under siege. A proposed market rate development on 105 Keefer Street threatens the cultural and economic fabric of Chinatown. “Our Chinatown is being bought up by developers. What’s going to be left in Chinatown for people like me when the dust settles?” protested Ivy Su, a resident in the neighbourhood. Ms. Su’s concerns are real. Vancouver Chinatown was not-so-honoured to be designated a Top 10 Endangered Places List according to the National Trust for Canada. Intense market development pressure has pushed small businesses out and housing costs up. Chinatown is really under siege. And now, to add insult to injury, Beedie Group proposes desecrating the cultural heart of Vancouver Chinatown with a dominating luxury high rise development at 105 Keefer Street. How is the 105 Keefer site at the heart of Vancouver Chinatown? It is surrounded by the culturally significant Chinese-Canadian war veterans and railway workers monument, the Chinese Cultural Centre and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. The site is close to the National Historic Site where important heritage buildings such as the Chinese Benevolent Association and the Chinese Freemasons are located. A luxury market development at this site would violate/disrespect Chinatown's distinct character as well as the livelihoods of the people living here. Gentrification is already severely overrunning the entire Downtown Eastside and the plan by the Beedie Group to build a complex at 105 Keefer will only worsen this problem, which we and groups dedicated to saving Chinatown have been battling against for the past few years. On the contrary, Chinatown residents and organizations are proposing the site be used for low-income seniors housing and an intergenerational community space. Ms. Su offers a brighter future: “We hope that the government will purchase the land to provide housing for us so that we are not without homes”. Ms. Su continues, “We’ve seen Chinatown change so much over the past years, but the changes are overwhelmingly for the higher income people moving in. We need more developments that meet our needs for affordable housing and for spaces to socialize with each other.” We can’t afford to lose more of our precious Chinatown! (Photo Credits: Christina Lee)

CETA is not in the interests of the Canadian People.

For years, Christy Clark’s government has been slashing education funding and delaying much-needed seismic upgrades. As a parent, it felt like the Vancouver School Board were the only elected representatives who were on our side and willing to fight for safe, fully-funded schools. The Vancouver School Board was planning to finally pass a balanced budget in a meeting tonight, in order to secure essential funding for seismic upgrades -- but incredibly, the Education Minister fired them before their meeting.[3] Now, the Vancouver School Board is essentially being run out of the Premier’s office, by an unelected political appointee. This could become a major scandal that will follow the BC government all the way to the ballot box in May’s provincial election, and they know it. It starts with a huge petition calling on Education Minister Mike Bernier to reverse this terrible decision. If you agree that firing the elected VSB trustees is an outrage, sign the urgent petition to Education Minister Mike Bernier now. Sources: [1] Vancouver School Board fired by B.C. education minister (CBC) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-school-board-fired-1.3808674 [2] Former Vancouver School Board chair Mike Lombardi calls firing ‘outrageous’ http://globalnews.ca/news/3007688/b-c-education-minister-mike-bernier-set-to-address-vancouver-school-board-situation/ [3] Vancouver School Board to approve budget after months of delay, controversy (CBC) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-school-board-intend-budget-approval-1.3808204

It is up to each of us to risk backlash over staying silent on an issue that affects all of us. In case you missed it... Yesterday, TELUS sent out a simple tweet supporting climate action by the Government of Canada. Rebel Media decided to use it against the company, encourage a social media backlash, insult its Chief Sustainability Officer, and gather 5,000 signatures on a petition that encourages people to Cancel their TELUS services solely because of its support for climate action. As a result, the company has had to retreat back into the dark cave of PR damage control, apologize for its statement, delete the tweet, and deal with competitors trying to steal customers who express disagreement on social media. We keep talking about how we need our corporations and institutions to rise above, to take a courageous stance on the issues that matter most, and to care about more than just their own financial sustainability. I work at TELUS but am speaking as a Canadian: we cannot allow a few people to use the 'power' of social media to discourage big companies from acting on one of the biggest issues of our time that will affect our children, grandchildren, and generations to come. Here are a few facts: - Telus isn’t the only big company inside Smart Prosperity or the only firm backing carbon pricing - Loblaws, RBC and Tembec are all members of the environmental coalition - Ahead of the global agreement in Paris on carbon emissions last year, major global companies issued a call for carbon pricing systems. BP plc, Royal Dutch Shell pls, Statoil ASA and Total SA were among the firms who called for pricing - Top oil sands firm Suncor Energy also supports carbon pricing, though they haven’t released a statement on the new federal plan. The Mining Association of Canada has also stated its support for carbon pricing SIGN the petition NOW and let's show Rebel Media what Canadians really believe and stand for.

This creates high paying jobs for hundreds of thousands of Canadians and helps build the middle class back to the strength is deserves.

This is important because all 530 acres of land belonging to Six Nations will be used for the Empire Homes housing development and a park. As it stands now we would lose 330 acres of this land and receive 200 acres elsewhere. Six Nations people want land for their children and grandchildren so they can build homes in the future. This proposed deal is not a fair deal for us. We can no longer afford to accept" it's better than nothing"

These graduated students are the emerging middle class. An strong middle class is a prerequisite for the economic development of any country. If they begin their working lives with a burden of a debt, it is not good for them and Canada.

A Guaranteed Annual Living Income will help ensure that every citizen has a fair access to finances to live a healthy life. By providing basic income to everyone you are empowering citizens to contribute to society in their own unique way. This may be through art and volunteering and entrepreneurship. With little bureaucracy overseeing the distribution of financial resources citizens will live their lives with more ease, less stress, and more dignity. Citizens will be empowered and motivated to contribute to their local and regional communities according to their gifts and interests as they will not be weighed down by financial burden. Artists and musicians and those who have precarious employment would have a financial safety net. Graduated students who are carrying huge debt loads will be more able to pay off their debts. I know of some cases where students have graduated and did not obtain high paying employment. They nevertheless were saddled with crushing debt along with trying to just make a living. Basic Income would help these graduate students. Young families and parents of school age children would greatly benefit. Mothers could stay home or work part-time while not sacrificing the needed second income. Demand for daycare would go down. Ever increasing school fees could be afforded. Young seniors who fall through the financial cracks due to health issues and unemployment would be better able to weather the financial storms. Entrepreneurs who due to health issues are not able to continue with their business. They often do not have needed financial safety nets if they are forced to shut down their business or sell it at a loss.

Currently, Canadians pay more into CPP than the average monthly amount for an RRSP, which would later pay out a significant sum. There is no reason this should be the case. The government holds this money in a pension fund, where they could instead allow it to accrue value. The Poverty level has remained unchanged for a significant amount of time that I am aware of, not having heard of it changing in my lifetime. As I recall, it is currently $12000 CDN/year; where the average pension from CPP amounts to not musch more than $6000 CDN/year. Not only is it unrealistic, but it does nothing to reward the hard working Canadians who have spent their lives working and paying taxes, as well as paying into this fund. Instead, they can be expected to use up their savings, and spend the remainder of their days below poverty. I live in a complex where a number of pensioners reside, and some of the pensioners here I have spoken with are living on frozen vegetables and macaroni and cheese. This is unhealthy, lacks reasonable or even decent nutrition, and is common among seniors and pensioners. I work in an industry where I see a number of them fairly often, and in fact work alongside one who cannot afford to retire, and wouldn't know what to do with himself if he did. The pensionable age keeps increasing, and somewhat ironically, has increased beyond the average life expectancy; especially among individuals who work in industry, service jobs, or similar occupations, who tend to have lower than average life expectancies. These people pay the taxes this Country operates on. It may seem a Corporation lends a big sum in taxes, but they also get significant write offs, and much of the taxes they pay are collected from their consumers, and other taxation that eventually trickles down, (generally immediately), to the consumer, or impacts the employees wage caps. One way or another, it always falls on the shoulders of people who need and can claim pensions. Poverty is common in Canada, and it really starts to reflect on value and quality of life before you drop below $30000/year. At this level, you can expect not to pay for a home in your lifetime, and to continuously be paying into vehicles, credit cards, and other lending systems. This is part of the economic system we have, and directly attributed to how it functions. A part of the design. There are plenty of other things I would like to see addressed, but this would be a good start. Next up might be health and dental care, and making that more affordable and available, across Canada.

Work in Canada is precarious and extremely unstable, particularly for young people. The rise and prominence of employment agencies in the 21st century has played a major role in this precariousness and degradation of work, wages and benefits. Temp agencies profit from the labour of workers by being unnecessary middlemen. Temp agencies are far too prominent in the labour market and were not needed in the past, and are not needed now or in the future. Employers need to hire workers directly and allow employees the full benefits and wages for their labour.

Short Term Rentals (STR's) will bring down my property values, interfere with my right to a peaceful and quiet life that I paid a premium to acquire here. Had I wanted to live next door to a motel I would have chosen so, instead I chose to live in a residential area, not a commercial one. I do not want you to change my zoning nor approved usage of property within that residential zone.