If you’ve kept up with regional news on BC’s south coast over the past 35 years, chances are you’re familiar with Daphne Bramham’s work, and its impact. Starting out at the Regina Post-Leader, Bramham moved to the west coast as political reporter for The Canadian Press, until eventually joining the Vancouver Sun. From beat and investigative reporter, to associate editor and columnist, Bramham has helped BC readers understand more about power and politics at all levels of government, and difficul...
Jan 07, 2019•39 min•Ep. 14
From A to F, where would you grade Vancouver City Council? This was the question posed by Gordon Price to two of “The Independents” — podcast guests and past Council candidates Adrian Crook and Rob McDowell. In this end-of-year wrap up, and summation of standout moments in council chambers over their first two months in office, Gord, Adrian and Rob talk about all manner of hot topics, many of which will be back on the agenda (and in the Comments section and your news feed) in the new year. Spati...
Jan 01, 2019•40 min•Ep. 13
That’s “Downtown Eastside” — a tragic shorthand, an acronym that’s deserving (at the very least) of a full explanation. What’s happening? How did we get to the current situation? And why can’t we find our way out? Karen Ward is a member of the “we”. She’s an ardent and eloquent activist who lives in the neighbourhood and provides emotional support to her vast personal network — a community which spans from Woodwards to Oppenheimer Park, from the foot of Main Street to City Hall. Karen is a forme...
Dec 29, 2018•30 min•Ep. 12
Ian Bushfield is one-third of Vancouver politics podcast Cambie Report, one-half of its older, BC-focused cousin PolitiCoast, and executive director of BC Humanist Association. He’s also co-creator of a new classification method — a simple but compelling matrix — for visualizing the political and urbanist ideologies of the people and parties that ran for, and now occupy, City Hall. Gord spoke to Bushfield at length about the urbanist-conservationist axis and what it means in the current politica...
Dec 21, 2018•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 11
“The price of exclusivity in Shaughnessy, Kerrisdale and West Point Grey is gentrification everywhere else.” Much has been said about Vancouver’s housing crisis, and much has been promised. But now things are about to get real — and advocacy groups are ready. Particularly at Abundant Housing Vancouver. AHV is a voice for more — policy reform (renter protections, land value capture, zoning laws), non-market housing, and purpose-built rental units. For this, not to mention the specious claims they...
Dec 18, 2018•53 min•Ep. 10
“We came within an eyelash of running the table.” And he’s not wrong. Ken Sim, founder and CEO of homecare provider Nurse Next Door and bagel chain Rosemary Rocksalt, is just two months removed from having come within 957 votes of being the mayor of Vancouver. With five NPA Vancouver councillors, Sim would have led a majority, and thus the face of municipal (and perhaps regional) politics might look very different than it does today. Having returned to regular family and business life, he goes d...
Dec 11, 2018•49 min•Ep. 9
Gord visited District of North Vancouver Municipal Hall this week, to chat with Councillor Mathew Bond about about the failed Delbrook motion to allow a parking lot at 600 W Queens Road to become the site of an 80-unit affordable residential building, with a seniors respite care and below-market rentals. It was rejected 5-2 by the new council — following two years of planning and community consultation, the result of a complex partnership and collaboration. What does the vote say about the next ...
Dec 08, 2018•24 min•Ep. 8
A fixture in Port Coquitlam politics for the past 16 years — two terms as councillor, three as mayor — Greg Moore has also been a figurehead and ardent champion for the entire region. As chair of the Metro Vancouver board for seven years, and chair of the Mayors Ten Year Vision Committee in the midst of his decade-long tenure on the TransLink Mayors Council, Moore rolled up his sleeves and left indelible marks of leadership and organizational effectiveness on both organizations, while helping st...
Dec 04, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 7
In the opening op-ed, Gord blends some historical context into the current debate over renovictions and the state of Vancouver’s mid-rise rental stock, in a profile of West End icon The Berkeley. Then, a deep-dive interview with former diplomat — and independent council candidate in Vancouver’s recent election — Rob McDowell. A professional adjudicator and mediator, Rob talks about his entry into the political world over three decades ago, his decision to run for council for a third time, first ...
Nov 30, 2018•33 min•Ep. 6
Gordon Price and Tom Davidoff chat with newly elected Vancouver Councillor Lisa Dominato on how her successful run in the recent election was informed by her experiences as a school trustee, working in public policy with the provincial government, and through conversations with voters during the campaign. Plus, her take on the issue of the day — fulfilling the housing needs of the ‘missing middle’. What does she think about prior Council decision on duplexes? How can neighbourhood voices help gu...
Nov 27, 2018•54 min•Ep. 5
An opening op-ed from Gord, celebrating 60 years of the Planning Institute of BC, and highlighting some of what came to influence Vancouverism in the period 1986-2010. The main segment features a housing discussion between Josh Gordon, Assistant Professor at the School of Public Policy at SFU, and Tom Davidoff, Associate Professor of the Strategy and Business Economics Division at UBC Sauder School of Business, hosted by Price Tags Managing Editor Colin Stein. Read more »...
Nov 22, 2018•51 min•Ep. 4
Gord reviews the recent municipal campaign with four unsuccessful candidates for Vancouver City Council who ran as independents, together. Sort of. Harm reduction and Downtown Eastside activist Sarah Blyth, affordable housing and transit advocate Adrian Crook, Musqueam First Nation community leader Wade Grant, and health sector mediator Rob McDowell chat about what happened, what they’re watching with the current council, issues of representation in our public institutions, and whether they’ll r...
Nov 19, 2018•55 min•Ep. 3
In this episode, editor-in-chief Gordon Price opens with an audio op-ed, on how Vancouver’s #CouncilSoWhite may not be as telling as we think. The main segment features Price Tags managing editor Colin Stein talking to Maria Dobrinskaya, BC Director of the Broadbent Institute, and Simka Marshall of the BC Federation of Students, on electoral reform in the province…and why Pro Rep is LIT. Read more »...
Nov 09, 2018•44 min•Ep. 2
In this debut episode of Price Talks, Gordon sits down with Tom Davidoff, Associate Professor of the Strategy and Business Economics Division at UBC Sauder School of Business to talk about the region’s housing affordability crisis. Read more »
Nov 08, 2018•49 min•Ep. 1
Gordon Price welcomes you to the podcast of the blog. Price Talks is available on Apple iTunes and Google Play. More to come. Read more »
Nov 07, 2018•1 min
