Local Vancouver News & Commentary
VIFF Canadian Images party at Cinema 319
September 28, 2008
Maybe it was the long day at work, or maybe it was the late return home from the Opening Gala the previous night... Whatever the reason, I was feeling rather too pooped to party when I arrived at Cinema 319 on Main Street for Friday's Canadian Images event.
The rest of the crowd seemed to share my mellow mood, milling around in laid-back party clothes and nibbling triangles of pita bread and falafels. Luckily there was no shortage of places to flop down and put your feet up, as the comfy red club chairs and footstools in Infinity Features' elegant, hip screening room had been arranged into little clusters for the night.
The topic on everyone's lips was Charles Martin Smith's Stone of Destiny, which was the Canadian Images opening film earlier in the evening. Smith was in an ebullient mood as we chatted about his experience of making the film in Scotland. Apparently Scottish crews work strict ten-hour days, rather than the 12-hour shooting schedule standard in North America. Sounds like a blessing to me, but Smith said he found it frustrating having to down tools just when the scene was up on its feet and cooking.
There's no such thing as down time for a director with a film in production, so Smith had to miss out on his producers' weekend jaunts to continental Europe during the shoot, and even now with the film long since completed, the slog of promoting it continues.
I don't feel too bad for him, though - next stops on the festival circuit are Antalya, Turkey and then the Hamptons. Nice work if you can get it, alright.
Athletes Reach for the Silver – and Accessorize in Winning Style!
January 24, 2010
With all eyes focused on B.C. this February, Vancouver-area Denise Relke’s hand-crafted, sports-themed silver jewellery is a must-have for anyone visiting the province this winter. This athlete-turned-jewellery maker’s story is in itself, positively Olympian!
They say that every cloud has a silver lining, and in the case of Denise Relke, this was almost quite literally true. When this avid runner’s broken ankle forced her to take it easy, she filled some of her newly-found spare time with a silversmithing night class – and fell in love with the art form. In true marathoner fashion, she focused on the long recovery road ahead, and to remind herself that she would once again run, she used her newly found skills to fashion a unique running-themed pendant…and quickly garnered herself some fans within her running group.
One thing led to another and she was soon crafting bespoke designs for some of her running circle. As Sporty Jewels’ reputation grew, so did the assortment of jewellery she designed, and soon she was embracing a multitude of sports and an ever-growing group of sports enthusiasts as fans.
Denise explains, “I decided I wanted to create some jewellery that would represent the passion of sport. At first it was just for me but now I’m thrilled to share my designs with everyone from the recreational sports fan to the Olympic level athlete. We think everyone deserves to celebrate their accomplishments with some jewellery and Sporty Jewels is striving to do just that.”
The Sporty Jewels (www.sportyjewels.com) line of jewellery now encompasses everything from rings, pendants and earrings to bracelets, cufflinks and even belly jewels. The range also uses a modern sterling silver alloy that is extremely tarnish resistant and perfect for the athlete in your life – whether it’s that special somebody or the one inside you. This advanced technology maintains its luster for long periods of time and requires only an occasional wipe with a soft cloth to remove any smudges – a perfect fit for hard-working athletes that want to sport a little extra sparkle. These distinctive works of art are also available in 14kt gold, and serve as perfectly wearable mementos of special events you’d like to commemorate in a special way by going that extra mile.
The Sporty Jewels have also started developing a following amongst athletes of the highest order, we’re pleased to have provided pieces to Olympic medal winners Silken Laumann, Carol Huynh, Catriona LeMay Doan and triathlete Simon Whitfield. With the games and athletes set to entertain fans around the world in February, these exclusive jewellery items are about to garner some fans of their own. Sporty Jewels are available for purchase at selected athletics retailers in Vancouver as well as online through the website http://www.sportyjewels.com – and for once it’s the silver that an athlete wants!
Insite Judgement Explained
January 19, 2010
Columnist Peter McKnight explains what Insite, a safe injection site, is and its future.
Here's to another great decade in BC arts and culture
December 31, 2009
Ten years ago today, the world was poised on the brink of a new millennium.
Michael Buble was a largely unknown baby-faced lounge singer, a Victoria songbird with the last name of Furtado was about to release her debut album Whoa, Nelly! and conductor Sergiu Comissiona was preparing to hand the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra baton to Bramwell Tovey.
On Dec. 31, 1999, no one knew that 10 years on, Vancouver would be preparing to welcome the world to its doorstep for the 2010 Winter Olympics, an event that through the Cultural Olympiad shines a spotlight on our stages as well as on our ski hills. That moment is fast approaching, and it seems we’re ready for our close-up.
The first decade of the 21st century has seen B.C.’s cultural scene take a grand leap forward as our innovative, talented artists have continued to flourish under the enthusiastic support of an increasingly sophisticated local audience, and are rising to international acclaim.
In Westcoast Life today, we look back at the individuals and moments that defined the decade in dance, pop and classical music, visual arts and theatre in B.C. You can read the stories here:
Pop music: http://bit.ly/6wZpjr
Classical: http://bit.ly/8eN8ns
Visual arts: http://bit.ly/6KjTrK
Dance: http://bit.ly/4oITIc
Theatre: http://bit.ly/6LnaJ4
Today we also applaud B.C.’s aboriginal artists, performers and writers now receiving recognition for their world-class work. In November, playwright Kevin Loring received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, for Where the Blood Mixes, and B.C.-based actress Tantoo Cardinal was on Wednesday named to the Order of Canada.
Over the past decade the work of aboriginal visual artists Susan Point, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun and Brian Jungen has found a place in such institutions as the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, the National Gallery of Canada and London’s Tate Modern art gallery.
Ironically at a time of such achievement and recognition, anxieties are running high in the B.C. arts community, as it faces a bleak outlook in the wake of proposed cuts to provincial government funding that could cripple or obliterate many groups.
Through these tough times, the ongoing support of patrons, audiences and the media is more important than ever to our arts community.
Please join us in celebrating the decade that was, and in welcoming the decade to come as we continue to recognize the fine work of B.C. artists, to bring valuable critical evaluation to their endeavours, and to deliver news of innovation and change in the arts scene.
But most of all, join us simply in getting out there and experiencing the cultural riches that our community and our province have to offer.
Insight Film Studios rolls out the red carpet
October 01, 2008
If Thursday's Brightlight Pictures Red Carpet Party felt like an elegant cocktail soirée, and Infinity Features' Canadian Images party on Friday was more like a homey potluck, the bash Insight Film Studios threw at Edgewater Casino Saturday was all nightclub.
The packed-in crowd must have recovered from their gala hangovers. High prices at the cash bar didn't seem to be dampening the party mood as guests squeezed past each other in the dark while a singer belted out Amy Winehouse tunes and three huge overhead screens lit up with clips from Insight's film catalogue.
Personally, I was missing Cin Cin's risotto - canapes on trays never seem to fill me up, no matter how many scallops or mini bocconcini skewers I pile onto my napkin. (The record so far: six at a time, and no, I'm not ashamed.) Never mind; I had a great time rubbing elbows with the pretty people.
Michael Eklund told me about me how he got inside the mind of a producer for his latest role, in The Making of Plus One, which he's shooting now. The whole script is improvised, so he had to learn everything he could about film production in order to ad lib convincingly. When I asked him if there was any particular producer he was modeling his character on, however, he was diplomatically silent.
Robson Arms star John Cassini was there with his wife, director Monika Mitchell. He'd just flown in from Los Angeles, where he was shooting an episode of the new CBS series Eleventh Hour, but it was stage, not TV, that we talked about. I'd loved Cassini's performance in the Arts Club Theatre's production of Rabbit Hole earlier this year, and asked him if he plans to continue to work in theatre. "Definitely," he said. "On stage you get to use your craft in a much bigger way than in film or TV."
VIFF director Alan Franey may not have been the evening's host - that honour went to Insight CEO Kirk Shaw - but as a sort of host of the entire festival, Franey was more than pleased with the turnout so far, and remarked on a shift in demographic. "This year, I'm seeing a lot of Americans coming up to Vancouver to scout it out as a potential place to live," he said.
I wouldn't blame them a bit.
Last Train Home
March 04, 2010
Holiday Gift Idea…Save a Little Green!
December 10, 2009
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Hope for HandyDart
November 03, 2009
Seem to have poked a hornet's nest with my gentle suggestion that HandyDart workers in Vancouver accept the offer by MVT Canadian Bus. The column is here.
Workers rejected it, as they had every right to do. However, the terms looked good to me given the economic environment and the likelihood of no or minimal increases in wages and benefits for most public servants until the economy grows and the deficit shrinks. I couldn't help but notice that most of the hate mail I received used the term "for-profit" American company in every reference to MVT, as if that was a bad thing. The language was plucked out of the B.C. Federation of Labour press release. The BC Fed's Marxist fantasy is that we all work for the public sector, which would provide us the living standards of the former Soviet Union. Profit drives the economic bus, folks. Without it, there is no reason to invest or innovate or create jobs.
Much of the mail I received denied that wages were the chief issue, which of course they are. Letter writers argued that their main complaints were mandatory overtime and split shifts. That sounds like pretty standard fare in the sphere of public transit employment. The Coast Mountain Bus workers have to deal with it too until they reach certain levels of seniority.
Since TransLink has contracted MVT to deliver this service, the strike is the company's problem, not TransLink's. MVT has to live up to performance standards so it seems unlikely that it can go on much longer. Both parties have to get back to the table and work out a deal with the help of a mediator or conciliator.
Whatever Happened to Hollywood North?
December 14, 2009
In 2004, newspaper headlines were all doom and gloom when it came to British Columbia’s film and television production sector. In one year alone, total spending in BC’s most alluring industry tumbled 43 percent to $800 million. The industry meltdown was primarily blamed on the exodus of American producers who had abandoned BC due to rising costs thanks to a soaring Canadian dollar.
Many believed that this meant lights out for BC’s film industry and spelled the end to Vancouver’s self-proclaimed moniker—’Hollywood North’.
Since 2005, however, the industry has resurrected itself, in spite of the strong Canadian dollar. Film and television production spending in this province totaled $1.2 billion in 2008, up more than $250 million from 2007; 2009 is expected to be just as good. BC is now unequivocally the third largest production centre in North America, after California and New York.
Some industry observers say the province’s rebound can be directly attributed to the tax credits that the provincial government raised immediately after the industry dip in 2004—BC now entices film and TV producers with a 25 percent tax credit on labour expenditures. Virtually every other province and US state, however, also offer similar incentives.
“There’s always going to be ups and downs in the industry because of tax credits or the value of the Canadian dollar,” says Vancouver-based film producer and industry observer Dennis Tal.
“The reason our industry in BC has rebounded, however, is because we have a lot to offer. We have a skilled labour force, excellent soundstages, and great scenery. It also helps that we’re only two hours away from L.A, the hub [of film production in North America].”
Tal says that BC has been very successful in attracting a wide range of productions from the United States. He also notes that BC has developed a competitive advantage in two emerging segments: animation and computer generated imaging (CGI).
“Having shows such as Battlestar Galactica and Andromeda produced here has helped create significant local infrastructure and technology for the animation and CGI industries,” he says.
From feature blockbusters and low-budget TV movies to domestically produced documentaries and cartoons, the film and production industry continues to be a boon to the BC economy. While it’s had its ups and downs, the industry has tripled in the last 15 years and now employs more than 35,000 people.
Seeing the likes of Angelina Jolie sipping Pellegrino on Robson or Halle Berry splurging at Holt Renfrew is something Vancouverites should get used to. It is, after all, still Hollywood North.
Jonathan Toews takes charge of Canada's hockey future
March 04, 2010
Vancouver Parks: Mount Pleasant
July 24, 2007
Nestled in between Main and Cambie, along sixteenth avenue, Mount Pleasant Park offers a playground, monkey bars, and a community center with a pool.
The swimming pool is outdoor, so is only open during the summer months (when the city workers are not on strike, that is). It's a small pool, with grassed areas inside the fencing. It makes a nice place to bring a picnic, sit back, and enjoy the sun while having the pool for cooling off.
There is also a school adjoining the park grounds, with yet another playground, in case the ones in the park aren't enough to keep the family occupied.
Mortgage mayhem
February 11, 2010
May have gone out on a limb with this editorial but you'll notice new home prices were up only 0.4 per cent in December and sales have eased in January. No bubble here folks, just really expensive real estate.
It's not clear what problem Canada's chartered banks want the federal government to solve by toughening mortgage rules. But the Big Six are urging Ottawa to take measures, such as raising the minimum down payment and shortening the maximum amortization period, to avert a U.S.-style bubble and bust and the broader economic consequences that would bring about.
However, there is no bubble -- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the Bank of Canada and the federal finance department all seem to agree -- and an ill-timed move to dampen the housing market could set back the economic recovery.
Besides, the government has already curbed the excesses of an overly enthusiastic CMHC, which loosened the standards on mortgages it would insure a few years ago to include no money down, interest-only payments and 40-year amortizations. Even with those relaxed rules, no subprime mortgage crisis emerged. To qualify for a zero down payment, a buyer still needed a solid credit score of 680 or better.
To be sure, housing in Canada is expensive.
The 6th annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey released last month found only five markets in Canada that it described as affordable, meaning the median price was three times the median income or less.
Vancouver's multiple was 9.3, the most unaffordable of the 272 markets covered.
Perhaps the problem to be solved then is not high house prices but low incomes.
In 2008, the average Canadian family earned $71,764 and paid 44 per cent of it in taxes. That's more than the proportion of income spent on food, shelter and clothing combined.
More than two-thirds of Canadians own their homes and half of them are mortgage-free. For most, their homes provide a store of wealth, security in retirement. Their home equity maintains their independence. Why would government want to undermine them with policies that lower property values.
Between 2004 and 2008, Canada's new housing price index, according to Statistics Canada, rose by 28 per cent, or 5.6 per cent a year. That's a steady market, not a frothy one. Housing prices dipped by just over two per cent during the 2009 recession and began to recover in the fourth quarter.
CMHC forecasts sales of existing homes to increase to 445,150 units this year, compared with 441,300 in 2009, while the average price will rise to $324,500 from $312,950. No problem there, even though pent-up demand has recently accelerated buying activity.
What makes the banks' lobbying for policy changes perplexing is that they control roughly 75 per cent of Canada's mortgage market. In other words, they determine who qualifies for a mortgage, in what amount, at what interest rate and for how long. The rate of mortgage default in Canada is so small as to be insignificant. And since all mortgages granted with less than 20 per cent down must be insured by CMHC, the banks assume no risk whatsoever.
The recent upsurge in housing demand may well be partly fuelled by the expectation that interest rates will go up in the second half of 2010, as the Bank of Canada has hinted. If they do, that should cool things off.
The banks have all the tools at their command to lend money only to qualified borrowers. There is no need for policy changes to fix a problem that doesn't exist.
Your horoscope for February 18 to 24, 2010
February 18, 2010
Ottawa's spending problem
June 16, 2009
Is it contrarian to argue governments are spending too much money? Here's a little essay that makes the case.
It is fair to criticize the Conservative government for cutting the goods and services tax by a percentage point to five per cent last year. Many economists viewed the move as a political gimmick and argued that cuts to personal income, capital gains or corporate profits would have been more productive.
On the other hand, the GST cut did boost retail sales briefly, and it has the lowest marginal efficiency cost of any other tax. Whether one tax cut is more effective than another is an honest and legitimate debate that serves to inform policy-making. But claims by some commentators that the GST cuts are responsible for the federal deficit are neither honest nor legitimate. Their argument goes something like this: Given the forgone revenue as a result of the two-phased GST cut from seven per cent to five per cent -- pegged at an astounding $12 billion a year (why isn't mainstream media all over this this?) -- a deficit was inevitable and completely avoidable. And all the money from tax cuts went into the pockets of the wealthy and greedy corporations rather than into the collective good, things like national child care and environmental projects. The mathematics of this polemic is simple. If the GST collects $30 billion a year at a five per cent, it would amass $42 billion at seven. Voila, $12 billion lost. Unfortunately for these commentators, the federal government is required to keep track of its revenue and expenditures using generally accepted accounting principles, not Grade 5 arithmetic. The annual statement for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, reports a drop in GST revenues of $1.7 billion, reflecting the impact of the GST rate reduction to six per cent from seven per cent. The statement for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, shows a drop of $1.4 billion, which takes into account the two cuts July 1, 2006, and Jan. 1, 2008, to five per cent. The annual statements are made public each September so we'll have to wait a few months before we see whether the loss for a full fiscal year at five per cent reaches $12 billion. Don't bet on it. The truth of the matter is the federal government doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Indeed, government revenue grew without pause from $203.8 billion in 2004 to $256.6 billion in 2008, while expenditures grew by more than 20 per cent, or nearly twice the rate of economic growth. Some of that spending covered payroll for an expanding public service. There were 297,357 more people working in the public sector in 2008 than there were in 2004. Ottawa is not alone in its profligacy. Over the past five years, all provincial governments increased spending beyond what was needed to compensate for inflation and population growth. The federal deficit, and deficits racked up by provinces, are a direct result of the inability of governments to control spending. The latest round of "stimulus" spending will not kickstart economic growth, it will become a burden that holds the promise of more debt and higher taxes down the road. Just how much of burden was made painfully clear in a report by the economics division of the TD Bank, which estimated that a string of annual deficits over the next five years -- starting with the $50 million shortfall this year that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has already acknowledged -- will add $170 billion to the $468-billion national debt. Debt service accounts for eight cents of every dollar of revenue and ranks as the second-biggest expenditure after social services. Some Canadians believe that if taxation is good, more taxation is better. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives published a union-financed study, Canada's Quiet Bargain, which extolled the benefits of public spending. It purported to prove that Canadians get a good deal "by investing in taxes" and that tax cuts have reduced Canadians' living standards. In fact, productivity declines as the tax rate increases and productivity, more than ever as the population ages, will be the engine of economic growth and higher living standards. We need growth to create jobs so people have income on which they pay taxes. No one will reasonably argue that the tax rate be reduced to zero per cent, nor that it be 100 per cent of income. In both of these extreme cases, as the Laffer Curve illustrates, government tax revenue would be nothing. Governments need tax revenue to finance their activities. A majority of Canadians believe in public health insurance, public pensions, public employment insurance and public education, and most would agree that these services contribute to the quality of life. Nevertheless, governments have built up too much debt by paying out more than they take in. And there are only two ways to resolve it -- raise taxes or reduce spending. The choice seems obvious.
With anal the real issue is girth
February 25, 2010
