Daniel Fontaine, B.A., ICD.D

In this latest episode Coun. Paul Minhas appears as part of the regular Council Roundup feature. A number of topics were on the table including an interesting debate regarding the placement of a new public toilet at the corner of Begbie and Front St next to the Interurban building. Is the toilet still being installed, or isn’t it?

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It was StatusQuo2.0 at “Club41” aka Metro Vancouver this week as they chose their new chair of the Board. He is none other than Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley. The Chair didn’t bother to let the public (aka Metro Vancouver shareholders) that he was running until minutes before his name was put on the ballot – thus conveniently avoiding any media scrutiny. He also made some interesting comments about a ‘review’ to take place regarding the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant financial debacle.

Metro Vancouver was also making headlines this week for all the wrong reasons. News media were reporting that the CAO for Metro Vancouver was paid over $700K in compensation and benefits in 2023. That’s after the Board provided him with a hefty pay raise. How will that sit with taxpayers struggling to make ends meet?

Will 2025 be the year New Westminster gets its Canada Day fireworks back? Or will it be a special drone show over the Fraser River. We discuss a motion coming to New West Council that aims to kickstart a discussion.

In 2026 FIFA will be in our region and New West will be participating in the party. As part of that discussion, Council agreed to purchase up to two large outdoor digital screens to use in the community. Is it possible that sponsorships or grants can be used to offset the costs? Minhas moved a motion to explore that opportunity.

What is SOFI? It’s a report that outlines all of the expenditures at the City of New West. Interestingly well over $200,000 in transition allowances for several former elected officials was paid out in two separate calendar years. We explore what might be behind that move.

In our look ahead segment, we talk about two motions coming to Council on July 8th in support of Community Safety Officers and a restriction on international travel for elected officials. We also discuss June 30 as Indigenous Survivors Day in New West.

As always, the podcast is packed with great information and commentary. It’s available for download on all major platforms.

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Special host Paul Minhas conducts an exclusive interview with Kayvan Rahmati, President and CEO of Waves Coffee House. They talk about the business climate in New West, patios and economic development. We also find out how Waves got its name and which public figure Kayvan most respects!

We also bring back the popular “Bell or Buzzer” game and have Kayvan attempt to get all 4 responses right! Did he make it into the VIP Bell or Buzzer Club?

Minhas also turns the tables on yours truly and gets to know what got me into politics. He also puts me on the spot with a tough question about my potential future political ambitions.

A number of media segments are also featured from Global TV and CKNW regarding golden parachutes for a former mayor and the ongoing financial debacle at the north shore wastewater treatment plant.

It’s an episode you will want to download and share with your family and friends!

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This week’s episode of For the Record is jam packed with a full hour of issues and topics of interest to both residents and business owners in the Royal City.

To start off “The Way I See It” segment asks about whether we have enough competition in the construction sector? Would more competition help to lower the price tag for ballooning costs related to municipal construction projects? Why is so little attention being paid to why construction costs are now in hyper-inflation mode?

In our regular Council Roundup section Coun. Paul Minhas joins the podcast for a review of the June 10th Council meeting. On the docket is a discussion about red tape for outdoor events; development fees and charges; supporting a public inquiry at Metro Vancouver; broken elevators on New West’s waterfront; holding the State of the City event in a private venue inaccessible to our youth; tenant protection in the face of new NDP legislation to drive more development; whistle cessation and politicians getting into the action; an interesting council appointment to support E-Comm; a new $650K public toilet being installed on Begbie Street and facilitating extended hours on our patios.

In addition, we feature a story which aired on Global TV BC regarding the Northshore Wastewater Treatment Plant which is now almost $3B over budget. We top the podcast off with a clip from a recent Mike Smyth Show segment on CKNW where he highlights the financial wackiness of sending a seven person taxpayer funded delegation to Amsterdam to investigate sewers and dikes.

It’s another great episode that you’re going to want to listen to and share with friends, family and colleagues.

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