Category: In the News

BC Gov News

More families and individuals living in Richmond will soon have access to affordable housing as construction begins on the Pathways Clubhouse building.

“Our Homes for People action plan is delivering more affordable housing options for families and individuals, so they have a safe and secure place to live,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minster of Housing. “The Pathways Clubhouse building is a perfect example of this work in action – these units will be a welcome addition to this growing community, supporting more families and providing options for everyone.” …

“This housing project demonstrates how partnerships between government and non-governmental agencies can create much-needed affordable, rental and special needs housing in the community,” said Malcolm Brodie, mayor of Richmond. “These 80 units will provide rental homes for Richmond residents at various income levels and accommodate single people, families and seniors. It is yet another example of the city’s Affordable Housing Strategy in action. We look forward to seeing even more housing opportunities developed for Richmond residents in the coming months.” …

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Richmond News

Ten new banners designed by Richmond residents will brighten up local streets.

The winners of the City of Richmond’s annual Street Banner contest were revealed during Monday’s city council meeting, each representing a different theme.

The 10 winning designs will be displayed in the Richmond city hall atrium from now until May 31.

“Richmond is proud to support a robust and active artistic community. This annual contest is yet another way of sharing that creativity on our streets,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie.

“Community engagement and the arts are important to council and this contest helps to connect residents with the many beautiful elements that make our city a go-to destination.” …

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Vancouver Sun

B.C.’s snowpack continues to be below normal despite recent snowfall in many parts of the province, according to the province’s March update.

The provincial average snowpack is 66 per cent of normal, and of the 217 snow measurements taken, 12 are at a record low for March, said David Campbell, head of B.C.’s River Forecast Centre.

A low snowpack puts B.C. at risk of another summer of drought and wildfires. …

In 2022, Metro changed the number of days that people can water their lawns to one day a week, down from two days a week, to adapt to climate-related uncertainty.

“This was planned to help us get through the dry spells,” said Malcolm Brodie, chairman of Metro’s water committee.

He said Friday that recent snowfall has helped with the water supply outlook, but the snowpack is still lower than they would like to see at this time of year.

“While it’s still too early to tell what impact current conditions will have on the water supply in the coming months, we are taking proactive steps including beginning summer water storage operations earlier than usual. We rely on our member jurisdictions and the public to help us manage the demand, and it’s vital that everyone proactively conserve water,” said Brodie in an emailed statement. …

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BC RCMP

Richmond RCMP, in partnership with the City of Richmond and ICBC, is proud to launch the You Etch It. We Catch It program, aimed at combating catalytic converter theft and unlawful sales.

The new initiative, now available at participating Richmond automotive shops, invites vehicle owners to have the last eight digits of their VIN etched onto their catalytic converters during routine maintenance appointments at no extra cost. This etching serves as a crucial identifier to assist police in tracking stolen property and deterring potential thefts. …

This partnership reflects our commitment to proactive community policing and our ongoing efforts to deter crime in Richmond. We urge the community to take advantage of this free service and join us in protecting their property, said Chief Superintendent Dave Chauhan, Officer-in-Charge, Richmond RCMP.

Keeping our community safe is paramount, said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. The theft of catalytic converters is a crime that impacts more than just the owners of the vehicles involved. It impacts insurance costs, can have a major impact on our economy as people are unable to get to their workplace, and supports a black market in the handling of stolen goods. We will continue to support the Richmond RCMP in their community policing initiatives and encourage residents to take part in this important program.

Richmond RCMP is actively inviting more shops to join this initiative. Interested parties can contact Richmond RCMP to participate and contribute to community safety.

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Richmond News

Dear Editor,

Re: “Raucous Richmond meeting ends in vote to explore safe consumption site”

I am writing to clarify the events of Feb. 12-13 at city council when a resolution was adopted by a 7-2 vote to study the feasibility of a supervised consumption site located at the hospital in Richmond.

The issue came forward to council after 26 residents died from drug overdoses in 2023. Sadly, more will likely die this year.

The resolution did not propose that a site be established by the city, because council has no legal ability to do that. However, council wanted to investigate the viability of such a site located at the hospital and see if it would assist in mitigating our growing overdose crisis.

If such a site was eventually approved, it would be the responsibility of Vancouver Coastal Health, which has now stated it will not open a supervised consumption site in Richmond.

There was much interest on the matter shown by residents – some against and some in support.

In the end, seven members of council supported the motion to study the feasibility of such a site.

Regrettably, drug use is a reality in every community in B.C., especially following drug decriminalization by senior government.

However, the discussion is closed on the investigation of whether a supervised consumption site is viable here. There will be no more investigation.

In the broader perspective, I believe that by working together as a community, we can find solutions to keep Richmond the safe, vibrant, inclusive city we are proud to call home.

Malcolm Brodie

Richmond Mayor

CBC News

Two weeks after council in Richmond, B.C., voted in favour of asking health authorities to look into the possibility of a supervised drug consumption site at the city’s hospital, the mayor has said the city will no longer be seeking approval for such a facility.

During a council meeting on Monday evening, Mayor Malcolm Brodie said the resolution made by council did not state the city would establish a consumption site, and that only Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) has the ability to do this, with approval from Health Canada.

VCH has said it is not considering a standalone supervised consumption site in Richmond.

“The discussion on whether there will be a supervised consumption site in Richmond is closed,” Brodie said.

“There will be no site and no further discussion by council on this matter.” …

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Indo-Canadian Voice

Richmond City Council in a statement on Monday that was delivered by Mayor Malcolm Brodie at its meeting said that there will be no further discussion on the possibility of a supervised consumption site.

The statement said: “On February 13, City Council adopted a resolution by a vote of 7-2 to study the feasibility of a supervised consumption site located at the hospital in Richmond.

“The resolution did not state that the City would establish a site. Council has no legal ability to do that – only Vancouver Coastal Health can do this with the approval of Health Canada.

“Vancouver Coastal Health has now publicly stated it will not open a supervised consumption site in Richmond. That means the discussion on whether there will be a supervised consumption site in Richmond is closed. There will be no site and no further discussion by Council on the matter.

“In discussing this decision, it is important to note that the operators of supervised consumption sites do not hand out drugs to people. Nor do they encourage drug use by children or non-drug users.

“A supervised consumption site assists with addiction treatment and recovery services. A site does help to reduce overdose deaths. Twenty-six Richmond residents died from a drug overdose in 2023. Others will likely die this year.

“Keeping our community safe is paramount, and Council will always explore ways to do that. However, there will be no further discussion on the possibility of a supervised consumption site in Richmond.” …

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The Tyee

At a housing summit that concluded on Valentine’s Day, local governments were working out a new stage of their relationship with senior governments.

Housing announcements have been coming fast and furious since the fall — everything from funding and zoning reforms to new programs targeting different housing needs — pressuring local governments and their staff to pivot from their pre-existing plans. …

Perhaps the frankest panellist of all was Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, who took aim at the province’s decision to override municipal zoning to allow multiplexes of up to four units in single-family neighbourhoods and six units if they’re near rapid transit.

“I’m not a fan of what the province has done,” he said. “I think we’re all agreed… that we need to provide more housing. But as far as I’m concerned, the answer is not to throw it open and have four- and six-plexes everywhere when there’s a whole raft of issues from neighbourhoods to parking to infrastructure.”

Like nearby Burnaby, Richmond has been channelling density on major arterials and transit hubs in a “very strategic and careful” manner, he added. Plus, the two big cities have been implementing in-house affordable housing strategies.

“As far as I’m concerned, we want to stay the course,” said Brodie. “The area of Steveston has nothing but small lots. If you put four, six units on all of those small lots, you’re going to absolutely destroy really a fine neighbourhood in our city.

“We will have to deal with the densification that is going to be decentralized and it’s going to be all over the city. So the effort to control the situation and to provide the services that we need is really limited.” …

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The New York Times

British Columbia’s rampant drug deaths have more than once thrust public health officials into uncharted territory. It became the first province to decriminalize small quantities of hard drugs for personal use in 2022, about two decades after Vancouver opened the first supervised injection site in North America. But as overdoses increase in some British Columbia towns, there is disagreement in one city about how to address it.

In Richmond, one of British Columbia’s largest cities, with 230,000 people, municipal council chambers turned raucous this week as a full public gallery of residents opposed a plan for staff to study whether a safe consumption site for drug users would be viable in the community. The plan was adopted on Tuesday, but the effort is off to a rocky start, with few officials and agencies standing up to defend it.

More than 100 residents signed up to speak in the meeting, some tearfully, others amid shouting. The city’s mayor of 22 years, Malcolm Brodie, competed with residents for control of the room, and tensions escalated to screaming matches in the hallway, where Mounties intervened. …

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CTV News

With Vancouver Coastal Health quashing Richmond’s proposal to explore a supervised consumption site near the hospital, the city’s mayor says conversations with the health authority will continue.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie spoke on CTV Morning Live Friday, saying council has been concerned about the growing number of drug-related deaths in the city. Twenty-six people died from toxic drugs in Richmond last year.

“That’s 26 people in the community, 26 people who have stories, 26 people who had a future, they have family, they have friends, they have loved ones and I don’t feel that we can just ignore that,” Brodie said. “So what we wanted to do, and the resolution said this, was to talk about whether it would be practical and feasible to have Vancouver Coastal Health set up a safe consumption site in the hospital. And so we got the answer from Vancouver Coastal Health within a few hours.”

Council voted after two days of passionate debate that saw dozens of residents share their opinion on the proposed site. Brodie said there was some confusion on what the motion was even trying to do.

“This has been part of the challenge is to communicate exactly what has been the resolution that was put on the floor,” he said, reiterating the city itself could not open a safe consumption site. “We will have more discussions with Vancouver Coastal Health. They reached out to us and said they want to have those discussions to look for solutions.” …

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