Daniel Fontaine, B.A., ICD.D

In this summer episode of For the Record, Coun. Paul Minhas joins me and makes another appearance in studio to analyze the latest activities of New West city politicos.

What do President Joe Biden and the New West Mayor have in common? Well, some say they may both soon have close allies and supporters asking them to step down for the ‘good of the party’. That’s a topic we explore as we undertake a special look ahead to what might transpire in the 2026 civic election year. Will Community First actually have a new candidate for mayor? Or will they hunker down and hope for the best under the current leadership?

A proposal for a new Marriott hotel on Columbia Street above the historic Columbia Theater was on the docket for discussion. How tall should it be? Will it impact a possible redevelopment of the adjacent Army and Navy site? What type of community amenities will we get as a result of this latest tower proposal?

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh seems to have inspired – or perhaps heavily encouraged – his political allies in New Westminster to publicly endorse his idea of having Ottawa bureaucrats begin setting the price of our local groceries.

Yes, a motion was brought to council for debate regarding sending a letter to the Prime Minister encouraging him to start setting the price of our ‘essential’ groceries. But just exactly what is classified as ‘essential’? Furthermore, should provincial or federal politics be directly influencing civic debates in New West?

The topic of e-scooters makes it on to the podcast as we play a segment that aired on the Mike Smyth Show on CKNW this week. The switchboard lit up with callers, all of whom had some pretty strong opinions.

Sit back, pop in the earbuds and enjoy this latest podcast. Be sure to tell family and friends to listen too. You can download For the Record on Apple Podcast, Spotify and all major platforms.

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In Part II of our podcast coverage of the July 8th New West Council meeting, we discuss a number of topics on the docket for the ‘mid-summer marathon’ session. Be sure to check out Episode 36 for Part I of this two-part podcast.

In this edition, special guest Coun. Paul Minhas discusses the tragic loss of a life on East Columbia which was the subject of a report to improve road safety. A number of recommendations were endorsed to support new capital investments to make this part of our city safer for pedestrians.

Another meeting, another request for ‘budget enhancements’ that would lead to the hiring of a new $80,000 + benefits grants coordinator. Can you guess what happened when a motion came forward looking to find efficiencies first before we simply passed on this cost to the 2025 budget? Bet you’ll get this one wrong.

Another staff report focused on providing the Chief Licensing Officer with sweeping new powers to allow a food truck to pop up absolutely anywhere in the city. In the past, food trucks were only permitted in prescribed areas. What impact could this move have to existing brick and mortar establishments?

Do you think park and recreation fees are too high in New West? A motion approved by Council may put a cap on those fees for the one month and annual recreation passes until 2027 – but did an amendment put a twist on it all?

Council unanimously endorses two key staff recommendations to look at ways of ensuring all buildings (new and old) have a place for people to stay cool during the summer months. This is an issue most people expect would be led by the Province. But that didn’t stop one councillor from putting forward an additional recommendation (not endorsed by staff) to kickstart a major work project that in the end may not actually be necessary.

Are elected officials really allowed to accept gifts (aka free junkets to travel abroad on civic business) from major international conglomerates (aka 3rd parties) like Molson-Coors? You’ll be surprised to learn the answer to this question and who actually provided the clearest response!

An attempt to develop a made-in-New West ‘eyes and ears on the street ‘Community Ambassador Pilot program went down in flames. It was aimed at improving public safety, providing supports for our unhoused population as well as assist tourists.

Why did Council need to draft a motion, then send a letter to several BC NDP Cabinet ministers when the majority of the elected officials around the table are members of that same party? That’s a good question that deserves an answer, but was one provided?

Lastly, we talk about communications. When do members of Council get the right to see a news release that is sent out on their behalf? Before, or after it has been sent to the media? Not surprisingly the governing majority on Council chose to increase the power base of the Mayor by consolidating even more power in his office. We discuss how this will impact our local democracy moving past the next civic election.

It’s a packed podcast full of twists and turns that even generated a serious belly laugh from Coun. Minhas – who just couldn’t hold back. Be sure to tell your friends and family about this podcast. Word of mouth helps to increase our listening audience. You can listen to For the Record on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all major platforms.

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It was a jam-packed workshop and council meeting in New Westminster on July 8th. There is so much to unpack, that ‘s why we’ve broken this podcast into two parts.

Special guest Coun. Minhas is in studio with us and he provides his personal perspective on what transpired and why.

A number of interesting topics came up for discussion including raising the level of authority for the city manager for sole source contracts from $150K to $500K. We also discuss the injection of up to $16M to help support the ageing Massey Theatre with a new HVAC system and landscaping.

To poll, or not to poll. That was the question that got posed regarding whether to invest some tax dollars with Ipsos to survey up to 10,000 residents regarding what they’d like to see in the 2025 budget. Why did this stir up a debate and a split vote?

What would a council workshop be without another discussion about the City’s public toilet strategy. City staff came to council to get clarity on exactly what direction they should go when it comes to installing more $650K stand alone public toilets. But yes, work to install more signage around town directing people to existing public toilets is now underway.

Should a new position at city hall automatically be filled by increasing taxes or should we be looking at efficiencies first? You can just imagine how that discussion wrapped up. Or can you? You might be in for a pleasant surprise.

Council also debated a motion to refer a major report regarding some significant (and costly) capital improvements to the city as a result of a consultant’s study on bus reliability in our city. The referral would have been to the September 9th council meeting to allow the public more than a week to provide Council with their feedback. You won’t be surprised to learn how that vote turned out. Spoiler alert, you won’t be pleasantly surprised.

In Part 2 of this podcast, we’ll continue to cover off a number of additional items that came up for debate at the ‘marathon mid-summer meeting’ on July 8th.

This podcast is available for download on all major platforms.

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