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Episode 106: Police Budget Approval, Zach is Back, Flashlight Consultations, Nearly 30% Tax Increases, Deja Vu x Two and much more!!

🎄 NEW EPISODE! For the Record

Police Budget Drama, Parking Battles, Flashlights at City Hall & a 30% Tax Increase?

This week’s For the Record features a festive pre-Christmas theme – but the topics are anything but quiet.

🚔 1. Police Budget Passes 5–1: A Closer Look

The episode opens with a detailed breakdown of the 2025 NW Police Department budget vote. The budget passed 5–1, but had Councillors Fontaine and Minhas voted no, the result would have been a 3–3 tie – meaning the police budget would have failed, as Councillor Ruby Campbell was not present.

The podcast shares:

  • 🎙️ Coun. Nakagawa’s remarks, after she voted against the budget
  • 🎙️ Mayor Johnstone’s comments claiming he has always supported police budgets
  • 👮 The Chief of Police’s concerns about a decade of underfunding

With policing as the largest line item in the city budget, the discussion raises important questions about priorities and public safety.

🚗 2. “Zach Is Back”: Parking Chaos on 13th Street

Listeners hear a compelling five-minute presentation from Danielle and Zach, landlords who renovated their apartment building at 13th Street and 7th Avenue.

They request more time to meet the city’s compliance deadlines and highlight the severe impact of losing up to 50% of on-street parking, which would directly affect their tenants.

Both councillors note that Fontaine, Minhas, Campbell, and the Mayor visited the building to see conditions firsthand. The saga continues – and the podcast is following closely.

🔦 3. Queen’s Park Consultation… Bring a Flashlight?

What do a flashlight, winter coat, and umbrella have in common?

According to Gail North, President of the Queen’s Park Residents’ Association – they might have been needed at a recent city consultation event.

Held outdoors on the porch of Irving House between 3–5 PM, the session grew darker by the minute as the sun set at 4:19 PM. Space was limited, some residents stood outside, and the setup left many puzzled.

Fontaine has requested clarity from staff on whether porch consultations are considered “standard practice.”

💸 4. Operating Budget = 5.6% Tax Increase (and Nearly 30% in Four Years)

The city’s operating budget now comes in at:

  • 4.6% base increase, plus
  • 1% capital levy

Total: 5.6% increase for 2025, bringing New Westminster to nearly 30% in cumulative tax increases over four years – likely the highest in Metro Vancouver during this term of council.

The discussion highlights affordability concerns for residents, seniors, families, and businesses.

🕰️ 5. Déjà Vu: Century House Hours Return… Again

Coun. Ruby Campbell is now proposing the reopening of Century House on Sundays – raising questions about:

  • Who cut Sunday hours originally?
  • Why have they not been restored until now?
  • How does this relate to Fontaine’s earlier motion calling for a similar review back in 2023?

As the councillors note: It’s déjà vu all over again.

❄️ 6. ACORN Presents on Air Conditioner Access

ACORN advocates for a program enabling low-income residents to install air conditioners.

Fontaine reminds listeners that he previously proposed a $500 AC grant through the Electrical Utility – a low-barrier idea that was rejected after referral.

🎄 7. Around Town: Community Spirit on Full Display

This week’s “around town” segment features highlights from:

  • The Sapperton Pensioners Hall Christmas Party
  • The West End Residents Association meeting
  • A business association gathering in Sapperton
  • The Hyack Annual Christmas Event
  • The launch of the new Freshet Newspaper, now printing citywide

🔟 8. Top 10 New West Stories Preview & Holiday Break

The popular “Top 10 New West Stories” vodcast is coming soon, and listeners are invited to help shape the list.

The podcast will take a short Christmas break after December 19, returning in early January.

🎧 For the Record is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

📢 If you enjoy the show, please share this episode with neighbours, friends, and family. Community engagement matters more than ever.

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OPINION: Metro Vancouver Costs Soaring While Families Pay the Price by Coun. Daniel Fontaine, ICD.D

Metro Vancouver households are staring down tax bills that will nearly double in just a decade – and the region’s own numbers prove it. Sadly, we’re already more than halfway there.
Annual spending at Metro Vancouver is set to climb from $894 million in 2020 to $1.57 billion in 2026, and to more than $2.2 billion by 2030. That’s a 150 per cent increase in only ten years. These are Crown corporation–sized expenditures – and many billions more in capital work – but without the oversight British Columbians would expect for spending of this magnitude.
For families, the impact is direct: average annual household charges will jump from $560 in 2020 to $1,070 by 2030. On the North Shore, where the wastewater treatment plant fiasco has already driven costs sky-high, the average bill could hit $1,741 a year. These aren’t abstract figures buried in a budget. They’re real dollars, pulled from after-tax paycheques at a time when families are already struggling with affordability issues.
Population growth over the same period is projected at only 20 per cent. That mismatch tells the story: Metro Vancouver is growing its budget far faster than its population and households are left holding the bag.
The problem isn’t just unchecked expenditures. It’s the failure to consider long-term affordability and the absence of politically accountable oversight for an organization that now manages multi-billion-dollar capital projects. When projects go off the rails, as the North Shore wastewater plant has, families are left footing the bill. Without stronger guardrails, history will repeat itself.
To be fair, there have been some improvements – but they’ve come only after intense media scrutiny and very late in the game. It’s like trying to stop a fully loaded tanker already at full speed. The slight course correction is welcome, but it underscores governance and scope concerns that have been raised for years.
Metro Vancouver has evolved from a basic regional utility into something much larger: a sprawling bureaucracy that now dabbles in housing, economic development, and park operations. It’s an empire with Crown-sized budgets but little of the oversight or media scrutiny that provincial Crown corporations face. That needs to change.
The Province of British Columbia should put the question of an elected Metro Vancouver Board directly to voters during the 2026 civic election. Residents deserve a say in whether they want to continue with a structure where local appointees make billion-dollar decisions with minimal transparency, or move toward a directly elected body that answers to the public.
A much smaller and elected board – in place for the 2030 civic election – would bring more accountability and legitimacy to an organization that has simply grown too large and too powerful to remain insulated from voter oversight.
In the meantime, the Province can take practical steps to tighten accountability. BC’s auditor general should be given legislative authority to conduct value-for-money audits of Metro Vancouver’s operations. If the board remains unelected, mandatory external reviews of major capital projects before approval would help prevent another North Shore–style financial disaster.
Metro Vancouver’s mandate should also be narrowed back to its core utilities – water, liquid waste, and solid waste. These are the essential services families rely on every day. Straying into broader initiatives risks diluting focus and driving up costs. Residents expect reliable services, not empire building.
None of these proposals are radical. They’re practical measures to restore accountability and rebuild public trust.
Families across the region can’t afford another decade of runaway budgets, opaque governance, and financial surprises. Metro Vancouver must prove it can deliver essential services efficiently, transparently, and affordably or voters should be given the opportunity to elect those who will.
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Episode 104: Porcellato & Morrison Announce!, Downloading Dilemma, TransLink Tax, Metro Matters, Communication Conundrum, Parking in Peril + more

🚨 NEW EPISODE! For the Record – Episode 104

Downloading, New Taxes, Community Pushback & Two Big Candidate Announcements

This week’s episode of For the Record with Councillor Daniel Fontaine and Councillor Paul Minhas covers a packed list of major civic and regional issues affecting New Westminster residents.

🏛️ 1. “Downloading” Report Gets Voted Down

The episode opens with the story of the provincial downloading report initiated by the NWP.

City staff produced a framework to measure how much provincial and federal downloading is impacting New Westminster – but Community First councillors (all NDP-affiliated) voted it down 4–2.

As a result, the public may never get a clear picture how much NDP government cost-shifting is hitting municipal taxpayers.

🚗 2. New TransLink Taxes? Fontaine Responds on AM730

Popular AM 730 host Mike Smyth interviewed Daniel Fontaine about new tax ideas being floated by transit advocates – including:

  • A new tax on cars
  • A regional sales tax
  • Additional fees for Metro Vancouver commuters

Fontaine discusses real alternatives that don’t involve piling more taxes onto already overburdened residents.

💧 3. Councillors Across Metro Vancouver Push Back

Six councillors from five cities issued a public call asking Premier David Eby to pause approval of the 10-year Metro Vancouver Liquid Waste Management Plan, citing poor consultation with member municipalities.

FTR features a CTV News story summarizing the concerns.

📣 4. Improving Communications at City Hall

Another NWP motion returned from staff – this one aimed at improving communications and engagement on major projects in New Westminster.

After years of hearing from residents frustrated with last-minute notices and weak consultation, the motion opens the door to stronger communication practices across the city.

🚘 5. Delegations of the Week: Parking Loss on 13th Street

Instead of “letters of the week,” the podcast spotlights two impressive delegations:

  • Danielle
  • Zach

Both spoke passionately at City Hall about the impacts of parking loss on 13th Street, and the podcast shares clips from their presentations.

💙 6. NWP Fundraiser Sets New Record

The NWP’s November 20th fundraiser was the most successful in the organization’s history, showing strong momentum and community enthusiasm heading into 2026.

Fontaine and Minhas discuss what this means in the fight against the powerful District Labour Council (Community First) machine.

🏘️ 7. NW City Matters Forum – November 26

The next NW City Matters event is happening on November 26 at 726 12th Street.

Residents are encouraged to attend and participate in shaping New Westminster’s future.

🗳️ 8. Two New NWP Candidates Announced

FTR closes with some major political news:

  • Ray Porcellato, General Manager of the Salmonbellies
  • Maryann Morrison, Executive Director of the North Fraser Métis Association

Both have officially announced they are running for City Council under the NWP banner.

These strong additions significantly bolster the team – and two more council candidates and seven school board candidates are still to come.

🎧 For the Record is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

📢 If you enjoy the podcast, please share this post to help bring more community voices into the conversation.

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