Category Archives: Urban Life and Local Government

Fraseropolis hospitals trail in CBC survey

April 21, 2013 By in Urban Life and Local Government Tags: Leave a comment
An A+ rating: Saskatoon City Hospital (photo from BTY Group)

An A+ rating: Saskatoon City Hospital (photo from BTY Group)

Based on its national survey of hospitals, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation  finds that more than half the lowest-ranked hospitals in Canada are located in Metro Vancouver.

The survey results, released on April 10, 2013, award a grade of “D” to Vancouver General, UBC, Surrey Memorial, Burnaby and Ridge Meadows hospitals. Of 239 hospitals rated in the survey, only nine fall into the “D” category, for performance (says CBC) “substantially below that of a typical hospital of the same size.” Rounding out the “D” category are two hospitals in Alberta and two in Saskatchewan. Continue reading →

Federal policing and local priorities in B.C.’s Lower Mainland

July 6, 2012 By in Crime, Urban Life and Local Government Tags: , Leave a comment

As of July 1, all affected B.C. municipalities have signed on to a new 20-year policing contract with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  Some local leaders remain fearful that the new deal exposes local taxpayers to surprise cost increases.

I have a different concern (predictably): could this contract  have done a better job of enabling local input on policing practices?  Is that option still open to us? Continue reading →

How do I govern thee? Let me count the ways…

May 31, 2012 By in Urban Life and Local Government Tags: 2 Comments

A few days ago, our friends at the South Fraser Blog published an infographic that captures some of the complexity of our system of government in the Lower Mainland.

British Columbia has five levels of government — federal, provincial, regional and local, plus First Nations territories that are building their own level of sovereignity — as well as agencies and arrangements that overlap in countless ways. Continue reading →

Winters in Vancouver can be dark

May 10, 2012 By in Urban Life and Local Government Tags: Leave a comment

Rain, Commercial Drive, VancouverAbout 10 per cent of visitors to this site come from outside Canada.  Some must wonder at all the photos showing dull or threatening skies.  Why don’t I just wait for a sunny day?

We can go for a month or more in this region without sunny days; Wikipedia, the summit of human intelligence, allows that “Winters in Vancouver can be dark.”  The Government of Canada’s long-term climate records indicate that wherever you go in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, it rains or snows one day in every two; what varies is the intensity of the rain or snow. Continue reading →