Category: In the News

Storeys

On Monday, the Government of Canada announced that it has reached an agreement with the City of Richmond that will see the city receive $35.9M through the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund.

The funding is expected to fast track over 1,000 units of new housing over the next three years and 3,100 over the next decade. …

Monday’s announcement was made by Richmond Centre MP Wilson Miao, Steveston-Richmond East MP Parm Bains, and Mayor of Richmond Malcolm Brodie. Federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Sean Fraser was not present for the announcement.

“The federal funding announced today represents a partnership over the next three years to add over a thousand units to our new home inventory, meeting the needs of Richmond residents with a focus on affordability,” said Mayor Brodie. “The funding will help the City implement eight specific initiatives to fast-track the creation of new housing units which will span the range of affordable home ownership – from market rentals, to non-market and low-end market rentals, to those needing supportive housing.” …

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Cision

With federal funding and federal leadership, we are changing how cities let housing get built in their municipalities. With a greater focus on higher density housing, student housing, homes near transit and affordable housing, we are going to get more homes built for Canadians at prices they can afford.

Today, the Government of Canada and the City of Richmond announced that they reached an agreement to fast track more than 1,000 housing units over the next three years. This work will help spur the construction of over 3,100 homes over the next decade. …

“The federal funding announced today represents a partnership over the next three years to add over a thousand units to our new home inventory, meeting the needs of Richmond residents with a focus on affordability. The funding will help the City implement eight specific initiatives to fast-track the creation of new housing units which will span the range of affordable home ownership – from market rentals, to non-market and low-end market rentals, to those needing supportive housing. Through Council’s steadfast commitment to existing and evolving strategies, policies and actions, our goal continues – to facilitate residential communities that are affordable and desirable to live in, with the amenities that fit peoples’ needs for sustainable and healthy living.” – Malcolm Brodie, Mayor for the City of Richmond …

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Richmond News

Three hotels in Richmond will be boycotted by the city after a second vote on the issue was passed with a 6-3 vote on Monday afternoon by Richmond city councillors.

This vote extended a boycott to the Marriott and Hilton hotels, currently in the same block as the Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel that has been behind picket lines for seven months. …

In the end, Mayor Malcolm Brodie and Couns. Andy Hobbs and Alexa Loo voted against expanding the boycott to the two other hotels.

Brodie noted the labour dispute was only with Sheraton workers, not the workers in the Marriott and Hilton.

Furthermore, he said the striking workers who spoke to them said the fault all lies with the management.

“I think if you hear from management on that, they have a very different version of that,” he added. …

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Richmond News

The City of Richmond will get $35.9 million dollars from the federal government to help speed up housing builds.

This is supposed to help build 1,000 units of housing in Richmond over the next three years, and 3,100 over the next decade.

The funding is intended to cut red tape and up-staff at the City of Richmond to deal with housing developments faster. …

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said the Housing Accelerator Fund is not meant for particular projects, rather it will help the process of approving different types of housing, including supportive housing, non-market rentals and affordable housing.

“The funding is going to help us implement eight different initiatives and strategies to fast-track the creation of those additional new housing units,” Brodie said.

He noted the traditional approach, in the 1980s and 1990s, was for the federal government to build housing such as co-operative housing. …

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Richmond News

There seems to be some confusion – and disagreement – over a Richmond city council vote to impose a boycott in support of striking workers.

The union representing striking workers at the Sheraton Airport hotel, Unite Here Local 40, was at city council on Monday asking councillors to impose a boycott in solidarity with the strikers who have been behind picket lines for seven months.

The BC Labour Board has ruled the unionized strikers are allowed to picket two adjacent hotels, the Marriott and the Hilton, as they are under the same ownership.

After the union’s plea at the city council meeting, Coun. Bill McNulty moved a motion to support the striking workers by not doing business at “those hotels.”

While it was McNulty who moved the motion, Mayor Malcolm Brodie interjected his wording as well.

The final wording of the motion wasn’t repeated back at the meeting, rather Brodie called for a vote almost immediately after it was moved – after a few brief remarks from Coun. Carol Day. …

The official motion that is in the now-published minutes reads: “That City of Richmond provide support to the Sheraton Airport Hotel workers by not doing any business with the Sheraton Airport Hotel.” …

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Yahoo Finance

Media are invited to join Wilson Miao, Member for Richmond Centre – on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities – Parm Bains, Member for Steveston-Richmond East, and Malcolm Brodie, Mayor for the City of Richmond.

• Date: January 22, 2024
• Time: 9:30 am PT
• Location: Richmond City Hall, 6911 No. 3 Road, Richmond BC V6Y 2C1

Voice Online

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Greater Vancouver Water District, which has, through the collaboration of its members, consistently provided high-quality drinking water to the region’s residents, says Metro Vancouver.

“Water is essential to life, and for a century Metro Vancouver has been involved with making sure this valuable resource is stored, treated, and supplied to our members at an exceptional value,” says George V. Harvie, Chair of Metro Vancouver’s Board of Directors. “I’m proud of the work that this Board and those who have come before have done to protect water supply areas, and to build and maintain a resilient system that delivers some of the best drinking water in the world.”

Today, thanks to remarkable foresight and planning, Metro Vancouver provides excellent drinking water for 2.8 million residents through a complex treatment and transmission system that is safe and reliable. The regional district is also responsible for the protection and stewardship of the Capilano, Seymour, and Coquitlam watersheds. …

“Long-term planning for a sustainable water supply is always top of mind at Metro Vancouver,” said Malcolm Brodie, Chair of Metro Vancouver’s Water Committee. “As our region grows and the climate changes and becomes more unpredictable, the next important challenge we have is to ensure that we’re storing and using treated drinking water responsibly. We use too much drinking water in this region in areas it isn’t needed, and the actions and decisions we make now around water conservation will make a huge difference for the future.” …

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Richmond News

Richmond is moving forward with getting a new mobile command centre vehicle, which will cost about $1.8 million.

City council passed the 2024 one-time expenditures budget on Monday, which includes a “public safety mobile command and communication centre vehicle” for the Richmond RCMP and other first responders — such as fire rescue, ambulance services and the coast guard — to use in joint operations.

Coun. Michael Wolfe was alone in voting against the mobile command vehicle after expressing concern with the vehicle’s potential environmental impact and questioning how it fits into the Green Fleet Action Plan, which aims to reduce emissions from city vehicles. …

Mayor Malcolm Brodie asked if city staff can return to council to inform them of the potential vehicles they will be scoping out. …

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Richmond News

It looks like the proposed tax increase of 5.62 per cent for Richmond property owners – an average of $116 per home – is holding.

City council passed four budgets – library, operating, capital and one-time expenditures – at its finance committee meeting Monday, but there were some tweaks suggested that could come back to the final vote next week, including $520,000 to improve a city centre baseball diamond.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie noted there was little information about the baseball facility in the budget package and highlighted the cost.

“It’s been described as a ‘small amount’ notwithstanding it’s a half a million dollars,” Brodie said.

In the end, he asked city staff to bring back more information to next week’s council meeting when it can be revisited during the final vote on the budget. …

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City of Surrey

The City of Surrey, City of Richmond and Township of Langley have received a 2023 Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The award was for their joint work in the Resiliency, Recovery & Mitigation category that impacted an overall population greater than 500,000 residents. The municipalities were acknowledged and honored at the recent IEDC 2023 Annual Conference during the inaugural Recognition Night event in Dallas, Texas.

The award recognized the Supply Chain Resiliency Program that identified existing industrial capabilities that could be retooled to support future emergency production needs, and helped manufacturers diversify their businesses by focusing on emerging opportunities in new sectors. …

“Recognizing and supporting businesses is a cornerstone of Richmond’s economic strategy. This international award recognizes the innovative partnership and work with our partners in Surrey and Langley that identified and implemented meaningful supports for the region’s economic sector. The award-winning Supply Chain Resiliency Program played a key role in helping local businesses succeed during a challenging time and rapidly-changing market.” …

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