麻豆传媒映画

We talked to hundreds, if not thousands, of people in 2018 鈥� politicians, artists, activists, even a professional wrestler who demonstrated her body-punishing move on one of our reporters.

Here鈥檚 a small sampling of some of the more interesting things people said to us over the past year.

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Political animals

We have been through a lot together as people, we have been through serious illnesses, the loss of our parents, which we have all shared 鈥� and also important things that have happened to us, honours that have happened to us that we鈥檝e all been able to celebrate. So I just wanted to thank you all. It has been a great honour to work with all of you.

Elizabeth Ball at her last council meeting before retirement

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If people think that the free flow of ideas and exchange is something they would like, they will get very tired of what just appears to be argumentative back-and-forth, and no consistent governance. And that鈥檚 where I think the toleration for this would be pretty limited, unless a group of people get together to form a coalition that effectively becomes a party so they can govern, and you鈥檙e kind of back where you started.

City hall observer and former city councillor Gordon Price on the possibility of what would happen if a group of independent candidates were elected in the Oct. 20 election

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Seeking public office is a tough decision, it鈥檚 tough on their families and people make their own calls and there鈥檚 not much we can do about that.

Ange Valentini on Vision 麻豆传媒映画mayoral candidate Ian Campbell withdrawing from the race for mayor

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I need to spend more time at home, spend more time with my wife and my youngest, especially. And I鈥檝e got an 84-year-old mother that I should probably spend some time with, as well. It鈥檚 time to do a little bit for me versus what I鈥檝e been doing for the last 20 years.

Vision 麻豆传媒映画Coun. Raymond Louie on not seeking re-election

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It was my dad that actually pointed it out that I was the first female superintendent. I don鈥檛 think I particularly thought about it because I鈥檓 here to do a job and I鈥檓 going to do the best job I can.
麻豆传媒映画School District superintendent Suzanne Hoffman reflects on being Vancouver鈥檚 first female superintendent in 132 years.

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Our current administration鈥檚 recent admissions of failure and weak attempts to reverse course have been as effective as a row of beanbags holding back a tsunami.
COPE mayoral candidate Patrick Condon pulls no punches on the previous council鈥檚 record on housing at a press conference announcing his candidacy

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A not uncommon thing for women in politics is that women leaders tend to be put in when people feel like there's less chance of that party having a shot. It's a double chance for a party to look magnanimous or gender sensitive and let a woman take the fall rather than a man.

Vision 麻豆传媒映画Coun. Andrea Reimer on why she thought there had never been a female mayor in Vancouver

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My friends, I鈥檓 not going to be alone on council anymore.

Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr on election night 2018

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People are hopeful about the Greens because they think we're the glue that can bind a possibly very fractured council. They see us as a party that's successfully worked with other parties and interests and engaged them.

The Green Party鈥檚 Pete Fry on why he and almost all of the party鈥檚 candidates were elected in the 2018 civic election

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This is quite simply a financial dumpster fire. British Columbians deserve the truth, no matter how brutal the news is.

Attorney General David Eby in January reacting to ICBC鈥檚 projected $1.3 billion loss for the 2017/18 fiscal year

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Housing, development and affordability

A lot of people are living in their cars, too. Not just RVs. Until the last four or five years, I鈥檝e never heard of that many people being homeless before. Now it鈥檚 worse than ever. It鈥檚 really bad. It鈥檚 crazy. It鈥檚 not an easy life.

Gord Hocking, who lives in a tent trailer, not by choice听

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You鈥檙e kind of like the fairy that brings the poison at the end of the wedding.

Tenant Kirsty Barclay at a COPE news conference when a Courier reporter challenged the party鈥檚 candidates promise to end homelessness

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It鈥檚 ridiculous to assert that. The numbers are very clear 鈥� we鈥檝e built more rental housing than any city in the country. Last year, over half of the rental housing we approved was for people on low to middle incomes.

Mayor Gregor Robertson in response to critics saying he gave developers free reign to build expensive housing, which contributed to the affordable housing crisis

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We have a lot of artist friends of different generations who, when we鈥檙e on walks with them around the city, they鈥檒l say, 鈥淭hat used to be my studio up there.鈥� What they鈥檙e pointing at is now a luxury condo. With each year, the change is exponential.
Visual artist Sally Buck on how the changing face of 麻豆传媒映画is pricing artists out of the city

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It鈥檚 not a mall. I don鈥檛 think of it as a mall, I don鈥檛 think of it even as a shopping centre. I think of it as a micro-city. It鈥檚 a little piece of new urbanism that integrates a park, housing, retail, residences, cultural facilities and civic amenities. What is that? It鈥檚 a city, right? It鈥檚 not a mall.

Gregory Henriquez of Henriquez Partners Architects on the Oakridge Centre redevelopment

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I thought we had won the battle. I was so excited with all the community support鈥� All I can say is I鈥檓 so disappointed, not just for the Kettle but for all our clients. The drop-in needs to be rebuilt and [it was] housing for people that had been waiting for years. We鈥檝e hit the end of the road. For us, we鈥檝e invested all these years in trying to make it happen and it鈥檚 not going to happen with that [community amenity contribution].

Nancy Keough, executive director of the Kettle Society, on the decision to scrap plans with Boffo Properties for a development that included market condo units, 30 supportive housing units and a drop-in centre for people with mental health concerns on a property at Venables and Commercial Drive

Making a house nicer doesn鈥檛 affect the value鈥� The power to increase the value is not in their hands. It鈥檚 in the developers鈥� hands and the city.

Michelle Yu, realtor and land assembly specialist

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I grew up in Kitsilano in a large house with five siblings and now my husband and two kids are squashed into a tiny rental apartment. It鈥檚 always kind of on the edge and it鈥檚 not the same as it was. The neighbourhood feeling now is changing dramatically.
Lifelong Kitsilano resident Caroline Wittrin reflects on the neighbourhood鈥檚 changing face in light of the 100th anniversary of Kitsilano secondary school

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It's just such a small thing that we are up in arms over the idea of simply allowing two families to share the same square footage that we currently require [single-family] homes to consume. The drama over this is crazy... This isn't any extra density and it was called an atomic bomb. What would you call it if the proposal was for a four-storey apartment? What would that be? Would that be the Death Star?

Stuart Smith of Abundant Housing 麻豆传媒映画on the debate surrounding allowing duplexes in most single-family neighbourhoods in Vancouver

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Affordability is a type of supply, not a result of it. If you want to rezone for something, rezone for rental or income-based housing.

Breton Crellin, a tradesman and a council candidate for ProVancouver, telling city councillors why they should vote against allowing duplexes in single-family neighbourhoods

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After 10 years of Vision 麻豆传媒映画leadership, this council has become renowned for lack of public consultation. If you tear this city apart to achieve these goals, you've not achieved much at all.

Coun. George Affleck on why he voted against the plan to allow duplexes in single-family neighbourhoods

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If this is not gentle density, I don't know what this is because there is no extra density.

Coun. Raymond Louie on why he voted for allowing duplexes in single-family zones

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I come from a country [Pakistan] where if you want to experience poverty, all you have to do is walk out your front door. And, some of听the best people that I've met are people that don't have anything. So, rather than be quick at making judgments about people who you haven't met, who may not be in the social class that you're in, really keep an open heart and an open mind. Try to find out more about their stories and help them. In the process, we learn a lot more about ourselves than we would about others. That's the approach that me and my family are taking and some of our neighbours as well.

Nizar Assanie, who helped organize welcome packages for homeless people moving into a temporary modular housing complex in Marpole

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Community is the main reason why we are doing this 鈥� it always has been because we don鈥檛 need to move. The NIMBYism of everybody having their own home or their own plot of land or whatever you call it 鈥� that destroys the city over time. We want to be innovators.

James Chamberlain on why he and his husband, Jean-Marie Russell wanted a cohousing lite project approved

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I agree that when you say 85 per cent of market, the stock reply is, yeah, but the market is crazy so 85 per cent of crazy isn鈥檛 really very satisfying. But the thing that I think people will notice 鈥� and this has certainly been the case in the Athletes Village co-op and it will be the case in the Railyard co-op, in addition to Fraserview [housing co-op]鈥� is that on day one, that鈥檚 as expensive as it ever gets. Relative to income, and relative to market, it just gets better and more affordable every year after that.

Thom Armstrong, executive director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC and the Community Land Trust on rents in phase one of a new co-op in River District

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This is not something that鈥檚 going to be unique. You鈥檙e going to see it for all sorts of hobby interests. Whether it鈥檚 a motorcycle collective or a woodworking collective, shared garage space, whatever you want to call it, really is a function of the housing crisis that people just don鈥檛 have the room. Those days of when you could work with your dad or grandpa in the garage are gone for people in this city.

Samson Lang, owner of Rising Sun Motorcycles, on starting the 麻豆传媒映画Motorcycle Collective

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We can鈥檛 really make any more money and we鈥檙e already paying 50 to 60 per cent of our income towards housing. When it gets to 65, 70 [per cent], we鈥檒l move to the Kootenays. I have a good job here. But at some point you say, good job or not, what鈥檚 leftover is not enough. [I] might as well make $30 an hour and take a pay cut, do whatever I have to, and go live in Castlegar or Nelson 鈥� wherever we can find a place.

Bryan Stewart听on Vancouver鈥檚 unaffordable rental and housing market

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There is no ability. You have a choice to rent for the rest of your life and you will not grow roots. You鈥檒l not grow a rooted family where you can say, 鈥淲e lived here and this is the house I grew up in.鈥� That鈥檚 just not going to happen. You will eventually have to keep moving around. That鈥檚 the price you pay.

Brette Mullins on if it鈥檚 possible for middle-income families to stay in 麻豆传媒映画if they want secure, affordable housing

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The reason a city-wide plan is so important now is it needs to calm the waters and create certainty, both for the market and for community.

Scot Hein a former senior urban designer and development planner for the City of 麻豆传媒映画who鈥檚 now an adjunct professor of urban design at UBC鈥檚 school of architecture and landscape architecture, on why a city-plan is a good idea

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This is not business as usual in 麻豆传媒映画with this council. You鈥檝e got a unanimous vote, including the NPA, saying that tenants have rights and tenants can鈥檛 be evicted for renovations. This is historic. This gives us a signal that our work has been worth it, that organizing 鈥� not just representing tenants, but actually organizing with thousands of tenants 鈥� is the way to go for tenant power and that we can get [results] if we organize.

Longtime activist Wendy Pedersen, a member of the 麻豆传媒映画Tenants Union, after council adopted key parts of motion aimed at protecting tenants from renovictions

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I'm not saying it's a听perfect听solution but certainly it's a lot cheaper than a detached house. You've got half the land of a detached house with comparable square footage. Anything new is going to be expensive. Anything in the city of Vancouver, regardless, is going to be expensive but don't make听perfect听the enemy of the听good. It's a better solution than what we have now. It's better than a single-family house, it's better than a duplex. Pricewise, it's probably comparable to a duplex but livability-wise is far superior.

Richard Wittstock on why the City of 麻豆传媒映画should allow zero-lot line, fee-simple rowhouses in single-family zones

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I would encourage them to keep an open mind, to recognize that housing is a need and likely the house they live in wasn鈥檛 always there either. It鈥檚 very rare that we finish a project and have communities that don鈥檛 actually appreciate the contributions that that new project brings. I appreciate change is often a scary thing but usually the benefit at the end is very welcome.

Cressey Development Group vice president Jason Turcotte on what he would say to residents fighting against developments in their neighbourhoods

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This tax is an attempt to steal from my equity and also my dignity. My wife and I have collectively worked 70 years to be debt-free. Their solution is to put us back into debt.

David Tha, Point Grey resident protesting the B.C. government鈥檚 鈥渟chool tax鈥�

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Family businesses, small businesses are a huge part of the local economy. It鈥檚 sort of sad to see them displaced but at the same time the city is getting bigger and bigger and it鈥檚 become par for the course. It鈥檚 harder to work and do these types of jobs in the centre of the city.

Rob Borden, co-owner of family-run , about moving the business to Burnaby after 70 years on Fraser Street

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Our concern isn鈥檛 necessarily with the proposed structure and the much-needed rental housing, but the ongoing erasure of the city鈥檚 ever-decreasing built heritage 鈥� a concern especially for these small, unique sites that help create a unique layering to the city overall. Industrial heritage is under threat even more since it鈥檚 not always perceived as polished, or refined as other commercial or residential built heritage structures are. The intangible heritage aspects through their function can tell a story of a site, and even to the greater neighbourhood that it exists within.

Heritage 麻豆传媒映画Society鈥檚 Patrick Gunn on plans to demolish the city鈥檚 earliest remaining service station for rental housing

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I鈥檇 be hygienically cleaner. That would make me happier. I鈥檇 have a safe place to sleep. That would give me more of a positive outlook. I wouldn鈥檛 have to go out and hustle and sell merch every day. I have to buy my food almost on a daily basis because I鈥檝e got no place to keep it so it stays good.

Bernie Priestley, 52, homeless and living on a stretch of land near the viaducts on Union at Main streets

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Let鈥檚 get physical

One is that we're still labelled as cyclists because I'm no more a cyclist than I am a walker or a driver or someone who uses public transportation. I really think that the labels have done a huge disservice to everybody in terms of putting us up against each other. At any point in time, somebody's a pedestrian and somebody's on public transportation or driving.

Melissa Bruntlett, who runs Modacity with her husband Chris Bruntlett, on one of the things that frustrates her about being a cyclist in Vancouver

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I think it views me more of a warm meat tree than anything else.

Snake yoga practitioner Tristan Risk discussing her five-foot-long albino boa, Eros.

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He changed his game around all the time. How does a defenceman win the scoring race so many times? He was unbelievable. Bobby Orr was a natural talent.
The first Captain Canuck, Orland Kurtenbach, on the most talented player he went to battle against during his pro hockey career

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It鈥檚 been cool to watch [the fans]. The room is so peppy and loud. They bang on drums and jump up and down鈥�. They have been guiding us through this so we have been feeling very French.

Erin Rideout, general manager of The American, which served as a gathering place for French fans during the World Cup

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All creatures great and small

You鈥檝e heard the expression to 鈥淪top and smell the flowers.鈥� Very rarely do those flowers smell of a dead person. It鈥檚 so unusual that you can鈥檛 help but fall in love with it a tiny bit.
Jon Athon, who took in the blooming of a 鈥渃orpse flower鈥� named Uncle Fester at the Bloedel Conservatory in July

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The growing itself was easy, the worry and the fear of doing something wrong to Uncle Fester was high. There was always this anxiousness to it. There were a lot of what ifs 鈥� what if he鈥檚 going to flower, what if he鈥檚 not going to flower, what if he flowers and he doesn鈥檛 fully open, it鈥檚 just like all these things running through the back of your mind.

Bruce McDonald, Bloedel Conservatory superintendent, on growing Uncle Fester, Vancouver鈥檚 now infamous corpse flower that bloomed for the first time this summer

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I have never smelled rotting flesh before.

Park board commissioner Stuart Mackinnon on the smell of the 鈥淐orpse Flower,鈥� which bloomed at

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It鈥檚 a bit of a learning experience for us鈥� this is interesting for us because our biodiversity strategy in the park board has been 鈥淟et鈥檚 re-wild, let鈥檚 get more wildlife back in the city.鈥� We have a beaver at Hinge Park, we have herring returning to False Creek so it鈥檚 kind of really a good news story but on the other hand we didn鈥檛 really expect this.

Howard Normann, director of parks, on the river otter that took over Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in November and ate most of the resident mature koi

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I think ultimately what motherhood is is a total expansion of our repertoire. We become multi-taskers to a degree that鈥檚 unprecedented elsewhere. I love to embrace the superpowers that come with it.

Carin Bondar, host of the YouTube program Wild Sex and Discovery Channel's Outrageous Acts of Science

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If you gave crows and ravens equal motivation and put them in a boxing ring, the raven would win hands down.

UBC postdoctoral fellow who studies crow and raven behaviour

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People should have absolutely no concern about being bitten by a shark in B.C. waters鈥� Humans aren鈥檛 dinner for any sharks. We鈥檙e not part of their natural ecosystem... Sharks have much more to fear from humans.

Chris Mull, a post-doctoral scientist at SFU

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That鈥檚 arts and entertainment

The Kids in the Hall were born without an offensive gene, comedy wise. Dave [Foley] and I once wrote a thing but I can鈥檛 tell you what it is, because it鈥檚 2018 and we鈥檒l get arrested.
Kids in the Hall troupe member Kevin McDonald on whether any material was off limits during the troupe鈥檚 initial run in the 1980s and 鈥�90s

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It鈥檚 going to be a delightful day where you get nourished and pampered and you get beautiful affirmations whispered in your ear. And one of the musicians will be creating a song for you. He鈥檒l observe your energy, pick up your vibe and create a song on the spot.
Wendy Cobina DeMos, founder of 麻豆传媒映画inaugural Sacred Sexual Music Festival

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The cool thing about this ride is that you can鈥檛 buy a ride like this anymore. It鈥檚 so, I don鈥檛 want to say old, it鈥檚 so seasoned and unique that the ride has so much personality that a steel coaster doesn鈥檛 give you.

Jeff Strickland, vice-president of operations at PNE/Playland, about the Wooden Coaster on the ride鈥檚 60th anniversary

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If you like to get dressed up in chicken suits and have sex, then that鈥檚 your sex. If you like to have missionary sex under the covers with the lights on, that鈥檚 your sex.
East 麻豆传媒映画resident Amanda Sinclair defines the term 鈥淪ex Goddess.鈥� Sinclair participated in The Sex Goddess Project, a book that included photos from couples across Canada engaged in intimacy

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At that point, the Doors are in their limo and leaving the building. The stage manager grabs us and says 鈥榊ou f***ers owe me $10,000! That鈥檚 what it鈥檚 going to cost to have this band go back up on stage!鈥� We were in deep s*** for a long time because of that one.
Terry David Mulligan emceed a Doors gig in 1970 and asked the crowd if they wanted more music at the end of the band鈥檚 set. The Doors were already leaving the Coliseum and Mulligan was in deep doo doo.

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City living

I wouldn鈥檛 say it鈥檚 the biggest lawn I鈥檝e ever had to mow. But it鈥檚 definitely the biggest roof I鈥檝e had to mow, and the only roof I鈥檝e ever had to mow.

Landscaper Mike Rist on mowing the 麻豆传媒映画Convention Centre鈥檚 six-acre grass roof once a year

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The definition of stupid is not enough to apply to those individuals that decide to come to downtown 麻豆传媒映画armed with a weapon or a knife or other items they feel they need to protect themselves. This is strictly not tolerable.
Bar Watch chair Curtis Robinson speaking to reporters at a news conference outlining the code of conduct in place at Bar Watch businesses along the Granville Strip

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This daycare has done so much for the community. The teachers here have done so much, many teachers have been here since the day it opened 10 years ago. We cannot let this day go by unmarked.

Parent Angela Giannoulis, who organized a rally marking the Nov. 9 closure of Phil Bouvier Family Childcare Centre

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The average text message takes 4.6 seconds to construct and send. That鈥檚 like driving with your eyes closed for an entire city block.

Dr. Ian Pike, executive director at the Community Against Preventable Injuries, on the dangers of texting and driving

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I continue to say that 麻豆传媒映画is a safe city and Metro 麻豆传媒映画is a safe region in the world compared to many other places in the world, however we are not immune to violence and we do have several groups that are out there hunting one another down and killing each other.

麻豆传媒映画Police Chief Adam Palmer on an increase in gang violence in Metro Vancouver

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I had FBI, DEA, immigration, customs, local and state police, they all got out of the cars with vests, guns pointed at me, yelling 鈥淕et on the ground. Get on the f* ground.鈥� I got on the ground. I was arrested. So was my ex-boyfriend.

Eboney Chipman on getting arrested, along with her drug dealer ex-boyfriend, in the U.S. She now shares her story as part of Her Time, a presentation designed by two VPD officers aimed at educating people on the risks of dating men that are involved in organized crime or drug trafficking

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I am a very privileged person. I am white and I have a home and I have a nice old age pension that I don鈥檛 have to work for. So I鈥檓 way more privileged than most people in jail. So you get a glimpse of what they鈥檙e treated like.

Jean Swanson reflecting on the four days she spent in jail after getting arrested for taking part in a blockade at the gates of Kinder Morgan鈥檚 Burnaby tank farm

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People on welfare were able to afford to eat at places like Reno鈥檚. It was somewhere anyone could grab a bite to eat. This isn鈥檛 just a matter of old versus new 鈥� it鈥檚 a matter of economic exclusion and the ability of everyone to participate in public life, regardless of their income.

Zachary Hyde on the 鈥渟ymbolic cannibalism鈥� in Mount Pleasant where symbols of blue-collar culture are increasingly being appropriated by businesses that aren鈥檛 blue-collar

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It鈥檚 one thing to go to school with people you disagree with. It鈥檚 another to go to a school with people who have more rights than you do.

Matthew Wigmore, co-founder of One TWU, a group that gives voice to the Trinity Western University鈥檚 LGBTQ+ students

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I would be lighting my hair on fire.

Neil Wyles, the former owner of Hamilton Street Grill, on the city taking away 54 parking spaces from Yaletown鈥檚 commercial hub

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I understand that Amsterdam sometimes has this image of a hedonistic Valhalla, but we are not 鈥� I think our open-minded and tolerant approach and really focusing on education and harm reduction from a really young age, these are the policies that work.
Amsterdam Night Mayor Mirick Milan, who spoke to city council in the spring about modernizing liquor laws and introducing different ways to enjoy nightlife in Vancouver

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I can almost guarantee we鈥檒l be a Sunset Beach again. I don鈥檛 say that out of arrogance or trying to be difficult. I say that because there鈥檚 nowhere else to go.
Cannabis advocate and 4/20 protest organizer Dana Larsen, when asked where the 4/20 smokeout will happen in 2019

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I鈥檓 a strong believer that our officers are doing a great job every day out there and street checks are used very judiciously in this city. I also recognize that some members of the public do have concerns about police, in general, doing street checks. We are an open and transparent organization, and if they want a third party to come in and look at the books, we鈥檙e fine with that.

Police Chief Adam Palmer on the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs call for an independent study of the practice of street checks

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Inspiring words

I hope the Canadian soldiers who died can hear us so they can know how thankful we are for them. And we鈥檙e not going to forget them.
Marcel Yohanna, a Grade 5 student at Richmond鈥檚 St. Joseph the Worker school, speaking at a Remembrance Day ceremony at Mountain View cemetery

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I just need encouragement from other people. I need to see that the world isn鈥檛 a bad place. For a while, that鈥檚 how I viewed the world. I just didn鈥檛 feel safe. I do feel safe now.
Nick, whose last name wasn鈥檛 published, speaks about his recovery process as a survivor of female-on-male sexual abuse

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We鈥檙e at a critical juncture for the future of reconciliation. The park board and institutions at all levels have done important work in recognizing the unique issues inherent in reconciling our relationship with the Aboriginal peoples of this land, but this work is only phase one.

Rena Soutar, 麻豆传媒映画Park Board鈥檚 reconciliation planner

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No one鈥檚 first thoughts are worth tweeting,

Michelle Obama speaking at Greater 麻豆传媒映画Board of Trade event at Queen Elizabeth Theatre

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There are awesome people in our world who are willing to step up and do the right thing.
Vincent Boh thanks four people from his downtown gym who saved his life after he went into cardiac arrest on a treadmill

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I鈥檝e always felt I didn鈥檛 have a choice but to move forward and make it all work. I can鈥檛 change what is. I can only live with what I have.

Jim Ryan, who was left paralyzed after a swimming accident.

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