Ladner Makes Mayoral Run Official, Suzuki Foundation Gives Stamp of Approval on New Carbon Tax: VancouverIAM

This is a selection of recent popular blog articles from VancouverIAM where you will find the best blogs from Vancouver, BC as well as video uploads, social networking, rumors, and blog authoring

Ladner Officially Announces Run for Mayor

On Vancouver City Councillor Peter Ladner’s blog , the official announcement is posted: NPA Councillor Peter Ladner will seek the Vancouver Non-Partisan Association (NPA) nomination for Mayor. “A two-term councillor for the NPA, Ladner is the co-founder of Business in Vancouver magazine and a long-time commuter cyclist and sustainability advocate.” Ladner states in the post that he believes he has “the right mix of professional, community and municipal experience to be Mayor and to make this city a beacon to the world for sustainability leadership, smart government and inclusivity.”

Ladner seeks to bring “a pragmatic and consensus-building approach” to the office, and to “rise above the petty bickering that has characterized City Hall.” Some of his key priorities include building consensus around public safety, sustainability, and affordable housing. He call the recent streak of gang violence “intolerable” and that we “have to give our police the tools” they need to stop it. Ladner is a strong proponent of sustainability, stating that ecodensity is not enough. He “advocates for creative and inclusive affordable housing solutions that addressed the needs of all income sectors.”

Carbon Tax gets Thumbs Up from David Suzuki Foundation

Walter Schultz’s blog on the political issues facing South Vancouver reports that the David Suzuki Foundation has put its “stamp of approval” on BC’s “groundbreaking decision to put a price on carbon emissions” and states that this move “will set the province up as a North American leader on climate change.” Ian Bruce, climate change specialist for the foundation, congratulated the BC government for taking this “visionary step.”

In last year’s throne speech, Premier Campbell said “the BC Liberal Government would lead North America in sustainablity.” Schultz writes in his post that we have now learned that “true leadership is more than just words; leadership is about following through with action.” British Columbia has put itself on “the forefront of an environmental movement by introducing North America's first full-fledged carbon tax.”

Beloved Entertainer Lydia Shum Dies of Cancer

In its most recent post, Chinese in Vancouver bids a sad farewell to one of Hong Kong’s most famous entertainers. Vancouverite Lydia Shum has died after an 18-month battle with cancer and “will be laid to rest in Burnaby next week.” Her body will be flown to Vancouver next week and a service held on Wednesday. Her family has indicated she will be buried at Forest Lawn, “a cemetery where Shum's parents and her brother-in-law” are laid to rest.
According to the post , “Shum was well known to be very filial to her mother, who died just a month ago in Vancouver at the age of 96.” Shum was actually in ICU “when her mother passed away” and her  family “covered up the news for days, fearing that Shum would insist flying back to Vancouver regardless of her being so ill.” Shum's last wish was that her supporters “divert their love to her daughter, Joyce Cheng,” who is also interested in the entertainment business “and will have her first CD debut next month.”

Douglas College Hosts Aboriginal Speaker Series

Tad McIlwraith, blogging on Fieldnotes: For the Anthropology of BC , announces that Douglas College will host “a series of speakers on topics related to aboriginal experiences living in a settler society. The overarching theme is reconciliation.” According the college’s website, “reconciliation is about recognizing the terrible injustices that have been inflicted on Aboriginal people in the past… [and] forging future relationships with Aboriginal peoples that respect their culture, traditions and cosmology.”

The events begin next Tuesday (February 26), and the opening night speakers include

Chief Leah George-Wilson (Tsleil-Waututh Nation), John McCandless, Executive Director, The People Together Foundation, and Chief Rhonda Larrabee, New Westminster Band, Qayqayt First Nation. The series runs every Tuesday through March 25th. According to the post , “the talks will be streamed live on the internet at 2:30p Pacific Standard Time.” Additionally, there will be a permanent website “devoted to the topic, and where the speeches will be archived.”

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