Category Archives: Politics

#CdnPoli | B.C. Family Day, and the Iterations of the Third Monday of February

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In most provinces across Canada, the third Monday in February is observed as a regional statutory holiday, known generally as Family Day.

Family Day is celebrated on the third Monday of February in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick.

Manitobans celebrate the third Monday of February as Louis Riel Day.


A portrait of Louis Riel hanging in the provincial legislature now recognizes the Métis leader as Manitoba’s first Premier. Premier Wab Kinew and Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand unveiled the updated plaque below the portrait on Monday.

Louis Riel is acknowledged as a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. Riel led his people in revolt against Canadian sovereignty in two resistance movements leveled against the Government of Canada and our country’s first Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, as he sought to defend Métis rights and identity.

In Nova Scotia the day is celebrated as Heritage Day; while in Prince Edward Island, the third Monday of February is celebrated as Islander Day.

Family Day isn’t a statutory holiday in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Workers in those provinces and territories won’t have Monday, February 19 off work like employees in other parts of the country.

Québec has the lowest number of statutory holidays, tied with Manitoba. Yukon has the most holidays in Canada, celebrating 12 each year. Alberta, Newfoundland, and PEI celebrate 11 holidays, and B.C., New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Ontario, and Saskatchewan have 10.

Québec doesn’t observe Family Day as a statutory holiday because it celebrates Journée nationale des Patriotes on the Monday preceding May 23, as well as Fête nationale du Québec every June 24.


A very Happy #FamilyDay to all of the diverse one-parent families across Canada!
Today, the third Monday of February, is a day to celebrate and cherish your beautiful families. ?

In modern society, where the pace of life can be relentless and demands on individuals are often overwhelming, the significance of family cohesion and bonding is more pronounced than ever. Amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, the concept of a dedicated Family Day holiday supported by the government emerges as a beacon of acknowledgment for the pivotal role families play in shaping societies.


Vancouver City Councillor Rebecca Bligh, her partner Laura and their children celebrate Family Day

One of the hallmark benefits of the Family Day holiday is its capacity to foster inter-generational connections. In an era characterized by rapid societal changes and evolving family structures, the importance of preserving traditions and passing down values from one generation to the next cannot be overstated.

Family Day provides a platform for grandparents, parents, and children to come together, exchange stories, and impart wisdom garnered from their respective life experiences. This interplay between different generations not only enriches familial bonds but also instills a sense of continuity and heritage, reinforcing individuals’ identities and cultural roots.

While the intrinsic value of Family Day lies in its promotion of family cohesion and emotional well-being, its ripple effects extend to the economic realm as well.

Studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between employee satisfaction and productivity, with individuals who feel supported in their familial roles exhibiting higher levels of engagement and commitment in the workplace. By affording employees the opportunity to prioritize their families on Family Day, governments contribute to a more motivated and productive workforce, with holiday-related activities and gatherings injecting vitality into local economies, benefiting businesses across various sectors.

By promoting family unity, enhancing emotional well-being, fostering inter-generational connections, and boosting economic productivity, Family Day serves as a cornerstone for building stronger, more resilient communities.

As we navigate the complexities of the modern world, let us cherish and celebrate the bonds that unite us, reaffirming the timeless value of family in our lives.

Sunday Music | Tracy Chapman | 1988 |
Most Auspicious Début

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Arriving with little fanfare in the spring of 1988, Tracy Chapman’s eponymous début album emerged as one of the most important and top-selling records of the late 1980s, providing a touchstone for an entire progressive movement of change, while reviving the singer / songwriter tradition.

As with most promising singer-songwriters, comparisons are prone to discussion, and Tracy Chapman’s début garnered mass amounts of media attention.

Of course, Joan Armatrading’s name is frequently mentioned (Tracy Chapman, however, shares little more than race and gender). Her vocal delivery is reminiscent of Joni Mitchell’s folk period; her sensitivity parallels that of Suzanne Vega. Yet Tracy Chapman is not quite so detached from her listener as these influential forebearers were and are (even today).


Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs playing to a rapturous audience at the 2024 Grammy Awards

Tracy Chapman is a fascinating storyteller, her world unlittered by pretense or façade. Consequently, much of the journey often overwhelms with sheer fidelity.

On June 11th 1988, a concert was held for Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday who was still imprisoned at the time for his anti-apartheid beliefs and activism.

Tracy Chapman, a largely unknown artist who had just released an album, and prior to playing on the stage at Wembley Stadium had played only clubs holding no more than 40 patrons, or as a street musician had performed in front of crowds of no more than 200 hundred, was asked to play Wembley as a “fill in” artist.

Stevie Wonder was scheduled to perform, too, despite not being officially announced, with the Superstition superstar arriving in London early in the morning of the concert. Heading straight to Wembley Stadium after his plane landed, his band were already rehearsing for his set which was due to take place after UB40 had finished their set. But disaster struck, with Stevie refusing to come on stage, leaving the organizers in panic — Wonder realized a crucial piece of his equipment was missing as he walked up the ramp to take the stage.

Although Tracy Chapman had already performed a brief set earlier in the day to a relatively sparse audience, with concert organizers pleading with her to fill the gap left by Stevie Wonder’s absence, a legend was born.

Behind the Wall was the second of what was supposed to be a three-song set.

As the legend goes, serendipity gave the world another glimpse of this commanding artist when Stevie Wonder’s team took their time to ready the stage for his concert, extending Chapman’s set to include almost the entirety of her début album.

With the crew setting up behind her for Stevie Wonder, alone on the massive stage at Wembley Stadium, guitar in hand, she allowed the echoing mic and the screaming of the initially inattentive crowd to amplify the quiet of the song. At first, a little insecure on the biggest stage of her career, as she sang with magnetic calm she built an atmosphere as intimate as each listener’s childhood bedroom, by the end of her first song, Fast Car, the entire crowd was listening in rapt attention.

The low verses mix bleak recognition with quiet hope before building to a chorus so wistful, so joyfully tender it can transport you to a time in your life when you were younger and maybe a little less scared. Most of the people watching her performance at Wembley did not arrive knowing Chapman’s power, and most likely had never heard of her before. But they experienced in real time her ability to lift hearts into people’s throats. She performed her songs the same way she had on the streets for years: alone and brilliantly exposed.

Not only was the Wembley crowd gobsmacked with Tracy Chapman’s performance — with the noisy crowd quietened by Chapman’s compelling presence on stage, and the strength of the songs she played — but playing two sets on the day offered her far more exposure, with an estimated global audience of 600 million for her second performance watching the concert on their televisions at home.

Over the years, we’ve witnessed the worst this world can throw our way, Chapman suggests on her début, at times through her working-class characters. But her music creates a world where no force exists without a counter. The worst of what we’ve endured, she also offers, makes righteous justice inevitable. It’s a worldview that many could appreciate.

By the end of the summer of 1988, a few months after the Nelson Mandela tribute, Tracy Chapman had a platinum selling album, and the singer was a major star.

Before the Wembley Stadium concert, Chapman had sold roughly 250,000 albums. In the two weeks following her performances, she had sold over two million.

In 1989 at that year’s Grammy Awards, Tracy Chapman won Best New Artist, Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and had been nominated — and perhaps should have won — for Album of the Year and Record of the Year for Fast Car, which was nominated as Song of the Year, as well.

In time, Tracy Chapman added a backup band. By then, however, Tracy Chapman was on her way to becoming a global phenomenon. The rest is history.


The wondrous Tracy Chapman and Eric ‘slow hand’ Clapton, 1999, performing Give Me One Reason

#VanPoli | Ken Sim | Swagger | Bullying, Misogyny & Hubris | Pt. 1

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ABC Vancouver Mayor, Ken Sim

What is it with men who lack humility, intellectual heft, or have little character and no experience, and their unwholesome mistreatment of women?

In the case of Mayor Ken Sim, perhaps there is a partial answer to the multiple questions above, deriving from Mr. Sim’s use of the word “swagger”.

Social media response to former Park Board Chairperson, Anita Romaniuk

A Definition of Swagger

Pompous, arrogant, boastful. An insolent braggart, and from the definition of insolent:  disrespectful, rude, insulting in manner and speech, and deviant.

Swagger. Think: that jerk on the beach in a too small swimsuit who believes he’s God’s gift to women, who moves with a near drunken stagger, on the prowl for a victim of his all-too-visible misogyny and disdain for women, a man who is lacking in fidelity of purpose, and a little man devoid of empathy, and humanity.


Mayor Ken Sim, the next time he uses the word swagger, think: misogynist, arrogant, pompous, lacking in character, intellect and empathy, boastful, braggart, rude, scornful, with no conscience.

Under the current provincial Police Act, the Mayor of Vancouver upon election becomes the de facto Chairperson of the Vancouver Police Board.

Faye Wightman led several high-profile agencies before Solicitor General Mike Farnworth appointed Ms. Wightman, a well-respected and accomplished member of our community, to the Vancouver Police Board, in September 2020.

In past years, dating back to 1990, Ms. Wightman served as CEO of the Vancouver Foundation, CEO of B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation, vice-president of the University of Victoria, Board Chair of Inspire Health, and interim CEO of the Canadian Cancer Society, appointed as a B.C. Housing Commissioner, and Coast Capital Savings Executive Director.

“The Vancouver Police Board is guided by the values of independence, fairness, objectivity and accountability in all that it does,” Faye Wightman wrote in a statement she issued last week, following her resignation from the Police Board. “I believe Police Board Chair Ken Sim, and certain directors of the Board have lost sight of these key values, and I resigned.”

Faye Wightman’s departure comes less than a year after Police Board member Rachel Roy resigned in June 2023. Stephanie Johanssen also lost her job as Executive Director in November 2022, after serving three years and seven months in the role. Note should be made that Ms. Johanssen’s departure came the same month Mr. Sim and his ABC Vancouver majority Council were sworn into office.


From Mike Howell’s Glacier Media story: “The Vancouver Police Board won’t say why its Executive Director Stephanie Johanssen (far right) is no longer on the job.” File photo Mike Howell.

In a follow-up interview with Glacier Media’s Mike Howell, Ms. Wightman states …

“If the Board is comprised of directors who have a professional reliance on the City of Vancouver for funding, or on maintaining a positive relationship with the Mayor, who also chairs the Police Board, then their objectivity is compromised,” Ms. Wightman said in her statement.

“That is the case with two of our directors at the [police board] and it was becoming clear they were in a position of conflict.”

Ms. Wightman also named Trevor Ford, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, when asked about her allegation of interference from Mayor Ken Sim’s staff.

“[Trevor Ford] came to an in-camera meeting, he phoned and directed Board members to fire the Executive Director,” Ms. Wightman alleged in the interview.

“He sat in on one-on-one meetings that the Mayor had with individual Board members. If that’s not political interference, I’m not sure what is.”

Vancouver Police Board Executive Director Stephanie Johanssen,  Board member Rachel Roy and now Faye Wightman, who has stated that “Ken Sim, from the outset and throughout our tenure together on the Police Board repeatedly asked for my resignation.”

Gone.

Harassment of Ms. Wightman? Political inference from the Mayor’s Chief  of Staff in the firing of Police Board Executive Director, Stephanie Johannsen?

VanRamblings, in reading Ms. Wightman’s statement, believes so, yes.

Readers. Do you notice a pattern?

Could it be that Mayor Ken Sim demanded the resignation of the three strong women of accomplishment written about above because Vancouver’s current Mayor finds strong women of character, integrity and accomplishment threatening, and as such they must be excised from his circle of influence?

Not to worry, though.

Although B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth has been uncharacteristically silent following the resignation of Ms. Wightman as his chosen appointee to the Vancouver Police Board, fear not …

Premier David Eby in his GlobalBC interview on Police Act reforms, states …

“I understand there’s some concern in Vancouver right now. The reforms (to the Police Act) are clearly needed. We’ll be working with local governments, and with police and the public in terms of the changes that are coming forward. The Solicitor General’s office is working on it right now.”

GlobalBC reporter Catherine Urquhart ends her report, stating …

“Legislation changing the Police Act to remove Mayors from police boards is expected to come as early as the spring session.”


British Columbia Solicitor General Mike Farnworth keeping his powder dry. Buh-bye, Mayor Ken Sim.

Solicitor General Farnworth’s silence thus far = revenge is a dish best served cold.