Khelsilem

ICYMI: Squamish Nation regains 20,000 hectares of ancestral land Two decades of planning and negotiations result in an historic land use agreement with the province.

Congratulations to the Squamish Nation on securing additional protections for Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Aysáy̓ch.

I’m grateful that protection and management of cultural sites and other significant areas will rest with the Squamish Nation.

The Squamish Nation statement on the passing of Bill 15:

The Squamish Nation opposed Bill 15's approach and assault on First Nations' rights. Bill 15 should be challenged in court for breaking the Province’s laws to consult and cooperate with FNs in developing legislation in alignment with UNDRIP.

Arrogance and ignorance are a dangerous mixture. WIll we see more of this from David Eby and his government?

The passing of Bill 15 is both disappointing and damaging to the BC NDP’s relationship with First Nations.

Many of us thought the era of relying on the courts to defend and protect our rights was over, but the government is foolishly bringing us backwards.

They should be held accountable.

Civil servants sometimes complain about their superiors in this manner because they were once in charge, but now political leaders are reclaiming control.

Political leadership should strive to raise standards in the work of the public service to drive the best possible decisions.

Metro Vancouver board trims pay, calls on province for governance changes Elected officials say they need the provincial government to step up to the new governance review committee table and pass legislation to change the board structure.

The Province has committed to "Support inclusive regional governance by advancing FN participation in regional district boards." (1.11 UNDRIP Action Plan).

How will the Minister of Municipal Affairs @ravikahlon.bsky.social uphold this commitment with Metro Vancouver?
www.biv.com/news/economy...

Squamish Nation Responds to Bill-15:

www.squamish.net/concerns-bil...

I appreciate your support for First Nations!

Landlords set rents at what people are willing to pay. Politicians can influence whether housing is abundant, forcing landlords to compete for renters.

Of course, all of them were voted out between 2015-2018, (= incumbents across all political ideologies tend to lose when inflation rises).

However, it would be good if the discourse then had and the discourse now recognized the various factors responsible for the current problems.

How many characters in news stories were spent framing the problem at the feet of Gregor Robertson vs. Jason Kenny or Rich Coleman during those years, political figures who had levers to influence the regional housing prices and rents?

It can be, but in our history:

1. Fed holds the biggest levers to influence demand

2. Prov holds the biggest levers to influence supply

3. Municipalities at the mercy of the first two.

Federal governments can massively impact the demand for housing in Canada, concentrated in Canada's largest cities.

Bingo.

There is valid criticism of the Vancouver City Council from 2008 to 2018, but it often lacks perspective on the overall context of a left-of-centre City Council w/ a Conservative-run fed & prov government, & regional counterparts who never carried their weight in social housing for the region.

Political leaders operate within a political economy and the Overton Window. Advocates often fail to understand this and limit their accountability to just political leaders, while also failing to hold voters accountable for what is permissible under those leaders.

I also can't imagine the Harper government wouldn't have made similar cuts during their years in power, since they practiced austerity across the board in other key social spending.

If the Feds maintained its level of federal funding for non-profit & coop housing, relative to inflationary increases, wouldn't the confluence of housing demands still have created an affordability crisis, albeit at a potentially lower intensity for lower-income households?

It's easy to review sub-regional government decisions from nearly a decade ago through an ahistorical lens, but Vancouver did not have the YIMBY movement it has today to oppose the alliance of property owners and renters opposing new housing.

As we're finally witnessing in 2025, regional governments at the state level in the US or the Provincial level in Canada are taking region-wide action on housing supply because micro-regional changes do not significantly impact housing markets.

Who was most responsible for Vancouver's housing rents + prices by 2018?

(a) Fed Minister Diane Finley
(b) Fed Minister Jason Kenney
(c) Prov Minister Rich Coleman
(d) Mayor Gregor Robertson

(Reminder: Vancouver represented only 25% of the population of the Metro Vancouver region in 2018.)

What are your thoughts on the new cabinet under Prime Minister Mark Carney?

Advocates, families call for coroner's inquest into deaths of Indigenous women, girl | CBC News The families of two young Indigenous women and an Indigenous girl whose bodies were separately discovered across Metro Vancouver in disturbing circumstances are calling for B.C.'s minister of public s...

British Columbia's chief coroner has just announced an inquest to publicly review the circumstances that led to Tatyanna Harrison's 2022 death

Some background here: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Business: We would like to open up shop in this empty storefront.
City: Not so fast, first we convene a kangaroo court in a several month long process to determine if you are deemed worthy, then we will laden you with months of permit wait time, and after renovations you will wait for inspections.

Big Bank Theory: Carney Edition How a Bay-Street wonk out-maneuvered a populist crusader and an unraveling progressive crew.

khelsilem.substack.com/p/big-bank-t...

What polls do people trust regarding the federal polling we've seen? There are so many different companies that I often forget which have the best or worst track record.

First Nations will improve the city by making more transit-oriented and car-lite dense neighbourhoods, with significant public and park space included!

Thank you to the Vancouver City Council for the unanimous support.

Thank you for your support!

It might just be me, but this looks like a pretty cool neighbourhood in a city! #JerichoLands