Vancouver Rundown

Police in West Vancouver are alarmed over a car being torched in the parking lot of a synagogue. The fire happened early Sunday morning in the parking lot of Har El Synagogue on Taylor Way. There are no injuries and no damage to the synagogue itself. No arrests have been made and West Vancouver Police say they understand how the congregation and the greater Jewish community may be concerned. Police say the situation is stable and the community is safe.

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Mark Carney’s Liberal government to protect B.C.’s private property rights. Poilievre used a Thursday stop in B.C. to push a four point plan on property rights. That plan includes making sure fee simple property takes priority over land claims, rights are secured in future federal deals with First Nations, those rights are safe across B.C., and Ottawa sets up a parliamentary committee to study the issue. Both the federal and B.C. governments are appealing the recent Cowichan decision that found Crown and city titles over land are defective and invalid.

Mayor Ken Sim says Vancouver will spend $400M to rebuild and renovate five community centres. The promise comes in Sim’s state of the city address. The mayor calls it the most ambitious funding package in the city’s history. Details, including which community centres will be included, have not been unveiled. Last September, the city’s independent auditor said Vancouver had not put aside enough money for the replacement of pools, rinks and community centres which have reached the end of their useful lives.

An early season wildfire is burning out of control near Pemberton’s airport. The 100 hectare fire is burning in a grassy area on Lilwat Nation land. There’s no early word on how it started but at least on nearby resident says he heard a couple loud bangs late Tuesday afternoon. So far, there are no reports of any damage to buildings.

pecial Weather Statements have been posted by Environment Canada as the B.C. south coast gets hit by strong wind. Gusts of up to 70 km/h are expected over a wide area of Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria and the Gulf Islands - BC Hydro crews and contractors are on standby to deal with expected outages. BC Ferries is closely watching the situation in anticipation of possible cancellations.Meanwhile, some BC Ferries customers are now making unexpected Tuesday trips following a long weekend of delays and cancellations. BC Ferries had to deal with three ships experiencing mechanical problems while two others remained out of service during the busy long weekend. That forced several cancellations on main routes between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. The BC Conservatives blame the BC Ferries Board and the NDP government for failing to fix serious issues over the past nine years.

Premier David Eby is spending Thursday meeting with First Nations trying to get approval ahead of changing DRIPA - the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Chiefs invited to a virtual meeting are asking questions about watering down legal language that aligns B.C. with the UN Declaration. The BC Conservatives have attacked the NDP government over its handling of the issue.

A new mechanical issue has removed a BC Ferry from the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay run, two days after she was put back in service. An electrical problem on the Spirit of Vancouver Island forced the vessel to return to Tsawwassen Tuesday morning - cars had to back off the ferry to unload. The Spirit of Vancouver Island broke down over spring break - it’s unclear whether she will be back in service for the Easter long weekend.

A pilot has survived the crash of a small plane at Pitt Meadows Regional Airport. The Cessna 172N, owned by one of the flight schools, hit the runway during flight training circuits late Monday morning. The pilot was rushed to hospital with serious injuries - no one else was onboard at the time of the crash. The outer runway remained closed for most of Monday.

Documentary filmmaker Avi Lewis has been chosen the new leader of the federal NDP - replacing former Burnaby South MP Jagmeet Singh. Lewis, who is Jewish but an outspoken anti-Israel pundit, hasn’t held political office but has worked as a TV host and CBC journalist. He had two failed bids to become and NDP MP - one in West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky, the other in Vancouver Centre. Lewis is a self-proclaimed social democrat and also the son of former United Nations Ambassador Stephen Lewis.

The BC Conservative MLA for Richmond Centre has been kicked out of the party caucus. Hon Chan has been removed immediately after being charged with assault, assault by choking and uttering threats. The counts relate to an investigation into a domestic file dating back to January of 2024. Hon Chan disagrees with the allegations - a Special Prosecutor has been appointed. Hon Chan was a journalist and anchor for Fairchild TV before entering politics.

Using public transit in Metro Vancouver will cost a little more, starting July 1. TransLink has approved an average five per cent fare hike for buses, SkyTrain and SeaBus. An adult commuter who uses buses and SkyTrain to get from Cloverdale to Downtown Vancouver will now pay $6.70 for a three zone ticket - that’s $13.40 a day for a round trip. The TransLink board is also pushing for an increase in the transit portion of property taxes - one of half a dozen tax and levy streams it uses to raise cash from taxpayers.

A Tuesday windstorm has knocked out power for thousands of people in several parts of B.C. At one point, over 50,000 BC Hydro customers on Vancouver Island had to look for power alternatives. Other areas hit by high wind have included Prince George, the Peace region, the Cariboo, Thompson-Nicola and parts of the Central Coast. Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley have been mostly spared. BC Hydro Crews and contractors continue to work to restore power to all areas.