Author: Daniel Fontaine

Special guest Councillor Paul Minhas joins me to discuss a number of issues of interest to local New West residents and businesses.

What do you think about setting up a Canucks on Columbia Fan Zone? It would consist of a couple of big screens and would allow fans to visit Hyack Square to watch the playoffs. It would be a BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair) event and would be family-friendly. Will it happen?

Does New West need more trees? During a recent bi-annual tree sale the City undertakes each year, the allotment of trees was sold in a matter of minutes. A motion coming to city council aims to increase the number of trees residents can purchase and plant on their private property or apartment balcony. Will the motion get majority support next week?

The NDP government’s decriminalization experiment appears to be going horribly wrong. There are multiple stories of the diversion of government supplied drugs along with the consumption of illicit drugs in health care facilities like Royal Columbian. Will the NDP finally abandon this experiment before the provincial election? Or will the feds step in and pull the plug first?

We also discuss the recent NWP fundraising event and provide a clip from the Cambie Report podcast which talks about who is attracting more financial support when it comes to elector organizations in New West. You might be surprised to learn what was reported by Elections BC last week.

These topics and much more are on this week’s edition of For the Record which is available for download on all major platforms!

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In this latest episode of For the Record host Daniel Fontaine covers a number of interesting topics including an opening editorial on the sport and recreation infrastructure deficit plaguing New Westminster. Will the opening of a new $114M aquatic and community center put a big dent in that deficit?

Fontaine also paid a visit to the BC Legislature this week and had an exclusive sit down interview with MLA Elenore Sturko. She is a high profile member of the BC United Party and is the Official Opposition Critic to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, New West MLA Jennifer Whiteside.

Sturko talks about how the NDP’s policy of forging ahead with decriminalization is being felt on the streets of New West and at Royal Columbian Hospital. She also speculates as to whether the NDP will abandon the decriminalization policy before the next provincial election in October. You will want to listen to this interview!

The podcast also includes a New West Council roundup for the April 8th meeting and additional coverage on the commemorative ceremony that took place on April 13th to honour Ben Flores. He was the first Filipino immigrant to Canada in 1861. This segment includes the beautiful words, song and drum beats from Squamish Elder Wendy Charbonneau.

This podcast is available on all major platforms including Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast and Amazon.

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In this episode, special guest Councillor Paul Minhas and I explore the financial and political ramifications of a costly overrun at a waste treatment plant under construction in North Vancouver.

The original cost for this infrastructure project was pegged at $500 million, but now it’s estimated to cost upwards of $4 billion dollars. Once all the dust has settled, North Shore residents will be paying about $725 more in taxes per year for three decades to partially offset the cost overruns. Other Metro Vancouver residents could face increased annual taxes of $150 for 15 years.

Several mainstream media outlets interviewed me this week to discuss my call for a public inquiry and a forensic audit. Listen to those interviews from Global TV, City News and the Jas Johal Show on CKNW on the podcast.

I’m also calling for complete governance review of Metro Vancouver in the hope that changes could be implemented as early as 2026.

Also discussed is the issue of creating a more fun and vibrant street scene in downtown New Westminster. Why have so many street festivals and other outdoor activities simply packed up and disappeared? Can more be done to generate new life and a sense of vibrancy in our downtown core?

Coun. Minhas talks about what needs to be done to bring ‘energy’ back to the downtown. He also explains how more ‘eyes on the street’ could reduce both public disorder and crime rates while also helping to increase a sense of safety.

You’ll want to listen to this latest episode which is available on all major platforms including Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Amazon and Spotify.