2 brdm, 2 bathroom condos next to this lake selling for less than $70K in Chandler, AZ

For as long as anyone can remember, Vancouver and its city politicians have strived to make our city number one in the world. Unfortunately, those efforts to make us the greenest, cleanest, safest and most desirable place to live have triggered a few unintended consequences.

According to the Eighth-Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, Vancouver is the second least affordable place to live amongst the largest English-speaking cities in the world. We have now surpassed Sydney, Australia and only trail Hong Kong for top spot. But housing isn’t the only thing that’s slowly becoming out of reach for local residents.

In you want to get a better picture of just how expensive Vancouver has become, you need to take a short flight down to Phoenix, Arizona to get some perspective.

When our family decided to purchase an investment property down there, we simply couldn’t believe what we could find. We were easily able to locate a nice two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo next to a private lake with all the amenities for well less than $70,000. Not only was the price of the home unbelievably low; so too are the monthly strata fees and residential property taxes.

During our recent visit to the condo last month, we decided to have a family night out and see a Phoenix Suns basketball game. We purchased three tickets along with three meals, a glass of beer and surface parking located only 150 feet from the entrance of the US Airways Arena.

Our night on the town cost us the grand sum of $81 dollars. Now can you imagine doing a similar family-friendly event for anything less than $200 in Vancouver? Not a chance.

But our lack of affordability doesn’t end with high housing prices and costly Canucks tickets. A range of other goods and services are more expensive here than in most other cities.

For example, if you want to park your car on a public street in downtown Vancouver, city meters will ding you up to $6 per hour. Some downtown parkades are even gouging customers by charging them $25 for all-day or special event parking in the evening.

If you want to fill up your gas tank in Vancouver, you better get ready to pay the highest pump prices of any major city in Canada. And that’s before another tax increase will be tacked on in a few months to help pay for the new Evergreen Line. 

It’s that time of the year again when civic politicians begin drafting budgets and deciding how many additional after-tax dollars they are going to remove from your wallet.

Average pay increases in the private sector have flatlined since the 2008 recession, but that hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm of civic politicians to jack up your property taxes and fees.

For example, the residents of Surrey woke up to a surprise this month when they discovered their annual tax bill will be increasing by at least $100.

In Vancouver, beleaguered taxpayers are facing a whopping 10% increase for sewer and water fees and a 6% hike for garbage removal services.

These increases are in addition to a proposed hike in property taxes to pay for an estimated $52-million budget shortfall.

So why do expenditures continue to escalate every year? Well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that increased labour costs are the single biggest factor.

Cities are in the business of delivering services demanded by people like you and me.

These services are provided mainly through a large and rapidly growing unionized workforce that received a generous 17.5% five-year wage settlement back in 2007.

That deal is now set to expire and workers will soon be without a contract.

That’s why the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is now at the bargaining table with metro municipalities trying to hammer out new collective agreements.

Vivian Krause – photo: Postmedia

Readers of CityCaucus.com are no strangers to Vivian Krause, who kindly shared some of her detailed research on our blog back in 2010 – you can find links to these articles here. Krause became a national sensation last week after Hon. Joe Oliver - Minister of Natural Resources published the following remarks. The excerpted text below in particular triggered a debate over whether foreign-funded charities are unfairly influencing economic and environmental policy in Canada:

Unfortunately, there are environmental and other radical groups that would seek to block this opportunity to diversify our trade. Their goal is to stop any major project no matter what the cost to Canadian families in lost jobs and economic growth. No forestry. No mining. No oil. No gas. No more hydro-electric dams.

These groups threaten to hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical ideological agenda.

Though it was widely reported as such, the Minister didn't refer to anyone as being 'radicals'. Rather he labeled the quest to halt resource development in Canada as being a 'radical' agenda. Minister Oliver's remarks stem indirectly from the findings of Ms. Krause, who has – perhaps at least for the moment – become the most influential blogger in Canada. Krause has been insistent that the issue is not so much the "foreign" origins of the funding, but the questionable use of charities in pursuit of political agendas.

The people she asks her "fair questions" of – such as the leadership at the charity Tides Canada – are likely not comfortable with the scrutiny. Donor-advised giving organizations such as Tides are meant to keep the originating source of funds on the QT. Tellingly, the bio of a Tides board member didn't even mention his connection to the charity in a recent Globe op/ed.

They've garnered the support of friendly third parties to try and raise doubts about Krause, such as the political warhorse Allen Garr, who coolly insinuates that she's a fraud. Others have mischaracterized her as a shill on the payroll of big oil, or a wag for the federal Conservatives. Krause denies both accusations. She is likely the most honest broker in the whole debate, but to those she has shed light on Krause must seem like the devil incarnate.

Though Krause is regularly featured in mainstream media today, it was only last fall that she became a hot property for media interviews. To his credit, it was CKNW Legislative reporter and weekend talk show anchor Sean Leslie that gave Krause her most unfettered radio platform yet to make her case just six days before the last municipal election. During a twelve minute, thirty second segment on his program, Krause describes a complicated web of charitable and political funding, and the people behind it (hear mp3).

Krause talks about her concerns that charitable dollars were used to fund the political campaign of Vision Vancouver, and questions how millions were spent to manage a charity that only granted to one entity – Tides Canada. She begins by discussing the connection of Vancouver's mayor to these US-funded charities that are stirring up headlines today by funding the campaign to prevent oil tankers on our north coast. Though not germane to Krause's interview with Leslie, it's noteworthy that Gregor Robertson was once a board member for both Tides Canada and the Dogwood Initiative organization.

Here below is the transcript of the November 13, 2011 interview of Vivian Krause on the Sean Leslie, World Today This Weekend program.

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Sean Leslie:

My next guest is an intrepid researcher who takes the old saying 'follow the money' very seriously. She has a lot of questions for Mayor Gregor Robertson. The mayor declined our request for an interview on-air this weekend. Vivian Krause, researcher and writer, welcome to the show.

Vivian Krause:

Thanks for having me, Sean. Great to be here.

Leslie:

Vivian, tell us about yourself. You maintain a blog called Fair Questions. What's it all about?

What's happening in BC wine country? A BCWineLover/CityCaucus.com cross-post

2011 was a watershed year for BC's young and evolving wine industry. Once again cool weather would test the resolve of both veterans and newcomers alike. The mild springs and hot summers British Columbia got used to during the last decade are doing a disappearing act, forcing wineries to adapt to much lower grape yields and in some cases causing inconsistent output.

On the bright side, however, BC wine seemed to shift into a higher gear in terms of its overall quality, and the industry gained respectability and influence both at home and abroad. It's easy to overlook our successes and lose track of the events that are helping to shape BC's wine industry, which is what brings me to write this industry retrospective.

What were the biggest events which impacted British Columbia's wine industry? I present them in ascending order of significance.

#15 Culinary experiences expand in the Okanagan

Two years back BC Wine Lover interviewed local wine pioneer Harry McWatters about what he felt the industry could do to add value to the wine travel experience in our province. His advice – seen in this short video clip – was to increase the number of culinary attractions. "We've had a deficit in great culinary experiences historically, and we're starting to see now a broader range of accommodation," remarked McWatters, who goes on to say the challenge is to expand beyond just the traditional (summer) seasonal business.

To that end, 2011 was the year Okanagan wine country saw an increase in choice for fine dining. In recent years the Naramata Bench has had a couple of options at Hillside Estate Winery and Lake Breeze Vineyards where wine travellers could pair with delicious dinner and lunch dishes.

Bert's Restaurant was impacted by higher property taxes and parking meters

If you’ve ever frequented the area near 13th Avenue and Main Street in Vancouver, you’ve likely come across Bert’s Restaurant.

Established in 1948, the eatery quickly became a favourite destination for local working-class residents who wanted to chow down on Bert’s inexpensive and legendary breakfasts.

Last week the restaurant was in the media spotlight as it served its last meal before going out of business. On hand to mark the occasion were a couple of NDP politicians who claim this Vancouver institution has become the latest victim of the much-maligned Harmonized Sales Tax.

According to MLA Jenny Kwan and MP Don Davies, the restaurant was forced to close due to a loss in business as a result of the HST. However, if you listened carefully to Bert’s owner, there is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to explaining why it had to shut its doors.

In several media interviews, owner Gerry De Kova pointed the finger squarely at the City of Vancouver as the source of some pressures forcing him out of business. Curiously, both Kwan and Davies were silent regarding the fact their political ally Vision Mayor Gregor Robertson may also be partly to blame for the demise of the diner.

According to De Kova, his annual property tax bill was jacked up by over $6,000. He also claims new parking meters helped to chase away customers.

“They’ve (the city) put in parking meters in front of the restaurant and that’s another dollar they [customers] have to spend.”

Interestingly, during the 2011 civic election, Gregor Robertson’s Vision Vancouver promised to help small businesses by continuing to fully implement an NPA initiative that scheduled moderate tax relief through 2012.

However, the city’s budget chair Coun. Raymond Louie recently confirmed that city hall will be backtracking from that commitment. As a result you can expect tax rates for small businesses like Bert’s Restaurant to be raised even further in the coming weeks.

The truth is several factors helped to kill this establishment, not the HST alone. Higher food prices and increased labour costs were also cited by De Kova as reasons why he couldn’t keep the lights on any further.