Sadly, another year of hunting, gathering and toiling as an overpaid word merchant is over.
Sniff, cough, sigh.
That means, of course, it’s time for my annual awards rollout in which I pick the best, worst, odd and perplexing city hall tales I wrote about or witnessed in 2013.
In no particular order or relevance, they are:
The biggest loss to the city’s homeless award: Judy Graves. The indefatigable advocate for the homeless retired from the City of Vancouver in May. Even Housing Minister Rich Coleman, whom she wasn’t afraid to criticize, praised her work: “Your tireless effort, gentle approach and vast knowledge has given a human face to the issue and changed thousands of lives for the better.”
Can’t believe her good fortune award: Suzanne Anton. Wow, she loses the mayoral race to Gregor Robertson, then loses a Liberal nomination to Andrew Wilkinson, then is acclaimed as the Liberal candidate for Vancouver-Fraserview, then wins a seat in the May 14 provincial election and then is appointed attorney general! No wonder she’s smiling every time I see her.
Most ridiculous media policy award: City of Vancouver — again. The policy sucks, our readers lose and Vision Vancouver’s oft-used transparency claim rings hollow when scribes have to beg like trained seals to get basic information from a taxpayer-funded agency. Bark, bark.
Throw the reporter under the bus award: Deputy fire chief Mark Engler. He told the Courier in a recorded interview the budget to build five bathrooms in five fire halls was $150,000 to $200,000 each. The City of Vancouver later said the cost ranged from $56,000 to $94,000, with city staffer Bill Aujla saying: “When I spoke to Mark, he acknowledged to me that he wasn’t sure where those figures [in the story] came from.”
How about straight from Engler’s mouth.
The “technologically agnostic” award: UBC. University prez Stephen Toope stands shoulder to shoulder at a splashy joint news conference with the mayor, who goes on and on about the need for a subway from Commercial Drive to the University. Toope takes questions about the subway, its cost, etc., but never once pooh-poohs the subway. A UBC PR person informs the Courier the next day that, actually, the university is “technologically agnostic” when it comes to the preferred method of moving people to the campus. Huh?
Best chant by an advocacy group: VANDU. Seconds after the Vancouver Police Board, which is chaired by Mayor Gregor Robertson, dismissed a complaint over unfair ticketing practices in the Downtown Eastside, drug users at the meeting chanted: “Hey Gregor, what are you going to do? Who’s in charge, the police or you?”
The Rodney Dangerfield of neighbourhoods award: Hooray! The Downtown Eastside wins again! With its open -air drug market, homelessness and mental health issues, the area continues to be a political blind spot and gets no respect. World-class city? Really? Keep on rockin’ in the free world, Vancouver!
Showing his true colours award: Conservative MP James Moore, who is the country’s industry minister. “Is it my job to feed my neighbour’s child? I don’t think so.” So says Moore, who happens to be an MP from a province that, again, has the worst child poverty rate in Canada. But is it his job to show up unannounced at a city council meeting and verbalize his support for an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight in Vancouver? You bet it is. “The economic impacts of this are real,” he said.
The best readers in the world award: Vancouver Courier readers. Thanks for spending time with us in 2013. All the best in 2014. Happy New Year! Bonne Année! Feliz año Nuevo!
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