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Vancouver city council directed staff during a special meeting on August 14 to add a non-binding plebiscite question to the October municipal election ballot. Council pointed to unprecedented levels of street disorder and open-air hard drug use as the reason, asking voters whether the city should strengthen laws against public use of heroin, meth, fentanyl and crack. A second question asks whether the city should formally push the province to convert part of the old St. Paul's Hospital site, or a similar location, into a secure facility with both voluntary and 100-plus involuntary care beds for people at serious risk due to substance use or mental health crises.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade is ramping up pressure on the provincial government over its plan to expand the Provincial Sales Tax to professional services. Business leaders say growth is being made harder by the government's decision to expand the PST to professional services starting October 1, 2026, and the board has launched a formal campaign urging the province to reverse course before the deadline hits. This will directly affect consultants, lawyers, accountants and other service firms across the city.
The City of Vancouver has outlined three preliminary renewal concepts for the Kitsilano Outdoor Pool, with costs running as high as $300 million. The beloved saltwater pool is a summer fixture for beach-goers, so the scale of the proposed investment is likely to spark debate among residents and at council over priorities and funding.
A wildfire has prompted an evacuation alert for about 30 properties in a community just north of Vancouver. Local emergency crews are monitoring the fire's spread, and residents in nearby North Shore and Sea-to-Sky communities are being urged to stay alert for updates as conditions remain hot and dry.
The United States and Canada, historic allies along an undefended border, fell deeper into a trade war marked by angry recriminations and new tariffs. Ottawa has responded firmly, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. will take effect next month, and Canada vowing dollar-for-dollar tariff retaliation while suspending trade talks with Washington.
Canadian retail sales rose 0.6 per cent to $74.3 billion in June, but Statistics Canada's estimate for July suggested the gain was short-lived as sales cooled a month later. The mixed data adds another data point for the Bank of Canada as it weighs the health of consumer spending amid ongoing trade tensions.
The provincial Conservative party is facing fresh turmoil, with MLA Reann Gasper resigning and Kerry-Lynne Findlay set to run for the seat, while two former B.C. Conservatives are now planning to form an entirely new party. The infighting comes as the party tries to keep momentum ahead of future provincial contests.
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