#VanPoli | Vancouver City Council | Wiebe MUST Resign | Pt. 1

September 22, 2020#VanPoli Civic Politics, BC Politics, Politics, VancouverRaymond Tomlin

Vancouver City Councillor Michael Wiebe Caught in a Conflict of Interest. Must resign.

On Sunday morning, September 20th, at 10:30 a.m., Charlie Smith, the longtime editor of The Georgia Straight, and avid and well-practiced journalist covering municipal politics in Vancouver, broke the story that UBC professor and esteemed municipal affairs jurist Raymond Young, following an exhaustive three-month investigation authorized by the office of the Mayor of Vancouver, “declared that [Green Party Vancouver City] Coun. Michael Wiebe is disqualified from holding local office until the next election, due to a conflict of interest.” Says Young in his report …

“Despite apparently being knowledgeable about conflicts of interest, on May 13th, Councillor Wiebe put forward the amendment [for] ‘staff to work directly with business operators to identify immediate patio seating options.’ Councillor Wiebe had to know that he was a business operator,” Young wrote. “His proposed and passed amendment enabled Councillor Wiebe to wear two hats when dealing with city staff: that of the Council member and that of the business owner.

“This was a clear conflict of interest situation that he deliberately set in motion. This conflict of interest cannot be viewed as an inadvertent action.”

Raymond Young recommended in his 14-page report — submitted to Mayor Kennedy’s Stewart’s office on September 12th — that “it would be ‘appropriate’ for Wiebe to resign his seat on council,” arising from a conflict that involved his ownership of Eight ½ Restaurant Lounge, and substantive financial interest in the Portside Pub, both of which businesses directly benefited from Wiebe wearing ” two hats when dealing with city staff: that of council member and that of business owner,” Young wrote in his findings.

At this point, let’s backtrack a little, to more fully contextualize the timeline of events that led up to Raymond Young’s determination that Councillor Michael Wiebe must resign his seat on Council, and disqualify him from holding office on city council, the park board, other local government, or as a trustee under the Islands Trust Act until the next general election.
On June 5th, 2020 at 9:48 a.m., The Straight’s Charlie Smith published an article calling into question the propriety of Wiebe’s involvement in “participating in the discussion of a matter, vote on a question in respect of a matter because of a direct or indirect pecuniary interest.”

On his financial disclosure statement and on his Linkedin profile, Wiebe lists himself as the owner/operator of Eight 1/2 Restaurant Lounge (151 East 8th Avenue). It won approval for its application for a free temporary patio permit from June 1 to October 31. These permits allow business owners to use on-street parking space or sidewalks in front or beside their establishments.

According to the May 13 city council minutes, Wiebe did not absent himself from discussions or voting on a motion to “approve in principle the prioritization of additional staff and budget resources to support the allocation of flexible, innovated, and expedited patio space”. In addition, that motion directed staff “to seek out cost recovery opportunities where possible and where reallocation of public space may be for private use”.

On May 27, Wiebe seconded a motion by NPA councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung calling on council to temporarily waive all permit and application fees associated with the temporary expansion of patio spaces.

Under section 145.2 of the Vancouver Charter, a council member must issue a declaration if they consider that they are “not entitled to participate in the discussion of a matter, or to vote on a question in respect of a matter” because of a direct or indirect pecuniary interest. If a councillor has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest, the council member must not remain or attend at any part of a meeting in which this matter is under consideration. In addition, a councillor cannot participate in a discussion, vote on the matter, or influence the voting on the matter.

“A person who contravenes this section is disqualified from holding office as described in section 145.911 [disqualification for contravening conflict rules] unless the contravention was done inadvertently or because of an error in judgment made in good faith,” the Vancouver Charter states.

On June 4th, 2020, Vancouver City Hall had issued a permit to Eight ½ Restaurant Lounge, one of 14 restaurants to receive approval for a patio. Wiebe submitted his application on June 1st. According to various reports, in the weeks leading up to June 1st, Wiebe worked with city staff to prepare the drawings and provide all of the necessary documentation required for a successful patio application — giving him a lead time for his application that would have been unavailable to other applicants … which is to say, those not sitting on Council, and those citizens who did not have as ready access to city staff as would be the case with a sitting City Councillor.

On June 6th 2020, non-practicing lawyer Michael Redmond, based on The Straight story above, lodged a Code of Conduct complaint with the City of Vancouver, triggering Raymond Young’s city-authorized investigation.
Upon receipt of the Code of Conduct complaint, Councillor Wiebe attended at City Manager Sadhu Johnston’s office to be advised of the complaint, and to sign off on the appointment of the individual who would conduct the investigation. Mr. Wiebe readily agreed to Mr. Young taking on the role of investigator, committing to his full co-operation with the investigation.

In fact, that June 6th meeting in the City Manager’s office was the last time Mr. Wiebe appears to have given any thought at all to the investigation, for in point of fact, he did not either meet with Mr. Young, nor provide answers to any of the questions submitted by Mr. Young to Mr. Wiebe, nor did he provide any aid whatsoever to Mr. Young in the conduct of the Code of Conduct complaint that had been lodged against him. Mr. Wiebe, it would appear, only gave thought to the matter when Charlie Smith published his Sunday morning, September 20th article in The Georgia Straight.There has been speculation in the community as to whether someone in the Mayor’s office was the source who provided Raymond Young’s report to The Straight. In fact, VanRamblings is advised that it was the complainant, Mr. Redmond, who provided Mr. Smith with a copy of the Young report, which he had received from Mr. Young on September 12th, the same date the report was submitted to the Mayor’s office. We understand that a second municipal affairs reporter — who we expect was CBC municipal affairs reporter, Justin McElroy — was also provided with a copy of the report.

In the curious and curiouser department, when Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung lodged a formal Code of Conduct complaint against her fellow Councillor, Jean Swanson, City Manager Johnston sent out notification of the complaint to Council and senior city staff. The Code of Conduct complaint against Ms. Swanson was amicably resolved when Councillor Swanson provided an apology to Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung.

Vancouver City Council. Councillor Colleen Hardwick looks askance at a Council colleague

In the past two years, Councillor Colleen Hardwick has had two Code of Conduct complaints filed against her, the nature of both investigations requiring Ms. Hardwick to engage the services of a municipal affair lawyer, Bob Kasting, requiring of her the expenditure of monies in legal fees to respond to each complaint.

Relating to both Code of Conduct complaints, the City Manager posted e-mails to Council and senior staff informing them of the filed complaints.

Relating to the first complaint filed against Councillor Hardwick, The Breaker News’ Bob Mackin published an article on July 11, 2019, writing the following …

Lawyer Henry Wood dismissed pro-density activist Peter Waldkirch’s Jan. 16 complaint against Colleen Hardwick, finding no evidence that the 2018-elected councillor used her PlaceSpeak.com civic engagement company improperly.

Waldkirch’s complaint to city manager Sadhu Johnston took issue with a page on the PlaceSpeak website showing Hardwick and an image of city hall with the headline “You don’t need to wait for an election to have your voice heard — I’m listening.” Waldkirch, a research lawyer, alleged that Hardwick was confusing citizens and using public office to benefit her private company.

“I do not believe it is appropriate for her to use it for city business and there is at least the appearance of this,” Waldkirch wrote in the email to Johnston, obtained via freedom of information.

Waldkirch went further on Twitter, just over 30 minutes after his initial complaint to Johnston. He publicly accused Hardwick of “attempted privatization” of public engagement and called PlaceSpeak a “black box.”

In his report, Wood wrote, “We are dealing with a soft launch of a consultation site on which the only question posed was ‘Do you think that you are being heard by the City of Vancouver?’ There is no obvious potential conflict arising from the substance of that issue.”

Further to the above, Councillor Hardwick had offered the services of PlaceSpeak to all members of Council, at no charge, furthering lessening any appearance of impropriety or conflict.

Note might be made at this point that, as is the case with the Code of Conduct complaint filed against Councillor Wiebe, investigators hired to investigate Councillor Hardwick received in excess of $20,000, on each occasion, for their investigative work, and the writing of a report.

Yes, that’s right, in excess of $60,000 has been paid to date to investigators conducting inquiries, and the writing of reports, related to Code of Conduct complaints lodged against two Vancouver City Councillors. One Councillor was exonerated … twice. One was not.

Note should also be made that although the City Manager’s office posted e-mails to Council and senior staff relating to the Code of Conduct complaints filed against Councillors Swanson and Hardwick, at no time did the City Manager post correspondence to Council and senior staff respecting the Code of Conduct complaint filed against Councillor Wiebe.

One is left to wonder, why would that be the case?

Note should further be made that Councillor Hardwick took the matter of the Code of Conduct complaints seriously, and determined early on that she would require the services of her own legal counsel in order that she might properly respond to each Code of Conduct complaint.

Councillor Michael Wiebe, on the other hand, appears not to have taken the Code of Conduct matter at all seriously, and unlike his more mature distaff Council colleague did neither engage the services of legal counsel to traverse the rocky shoals of legal engagement, nor in any way, shape or form co-operate with the investigation, not meeting with investigator Young, nor answering any of the questions provided to him by Mr. Young.

Why is it that Vancouver City Councillor Michael Wiebe chose to — it seems abundantly clear to this writer — not take the filing of a Code of Conduct complaint against him at all seriously, why did he consciously choose not to engage the services of his own legal counsel and, finally, why did Councillor Wiebe not co-operate with Raymond Young in the conduct of the investigation of the serious Code of Conduct complaint filed against him?

VIFF 2020 | Mind Expanding, Savagely Feminist & Hitchcockian

September 21, 2020Cinema, VIFF 2020Raymond Tomlin

Only three days to go until the start of the 39th annual Vancouver International Film Festival, when most films will be available through your computer at home, your laptop, or on your TV, employing Apple TV, Roku, an Amazon Firestick, or Chromecast, any of which will allow you access to the 100+ films VIFF programmers have scheduled virtually in 2020.
Now, VanRamblings has been doing our bit to bring you up-to-speed on VIFF 2020, but there are others out there who are also working to prep you for the big event.

For instance, Shane Scott-Travis at Taste of Cinema has prepared his annual list of 15 VIFF films he believes you should not miss, explaining in cogent and convincing detail why that is the case.
For instance, in no particular order, the following three films …

Last and First Men (directed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, Iceland). Mr. Scott-Travis writes, in part, “… the ambitious and sadly posthumous release from composer Jóhann Jóhannsson that has drawn comparisons to Kubrick and Tarkovsky, as challenging and creative as it is mind-expanding and moving. Narrated by Tilda Swinton, and presented as an immersive monolithic artifact from the future, irrevocably connected to our past.”

Violation (directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli, Canada). Says Mr. Scott-Travis, “This nerve-jangling revenge picture, set in the deceptively pastoral Québec Laurentians, is one of the most explosive genre film directorial débuts in some time. The writing and directing team of Dusty Mancinelli and Madeleine Sims-Fewer (who also leads the exceptional cast) cut their teeth making several memorable and menacing short films now make a feature length début most people will be enjoying online through VIFF Connect.
Violation is an elegantly filmed and disturbingly savage feminist revenge film that actually is feminist, and at VIFF 2020 essential viewing.”

Sanzaru (directed by Xia Magnus, USA). Says Mr. Scott-Travis, “While paying homage and taking visual cues from 70s horror films, not to mention the gloomy Gothic sensibilities of Henry James’ pitch black classic The Turn of the Screw, Sanzura promises to be more than your typical creaky old haunted house yarn. The first feature from Xia Magnus, the Texas-set chiller begins as Filipina caregiver Evelyn (Aina Dumalo) moves into the large country estate of Dena Regan (Jayne Taini); it’s here, in this perfectly eerie setting, that the troubles begin.
Already garnering promising notices from the festival circuit, Sanzura has been praised for its Hitchcockian story elements, suggesting parallels to recent genre breakout films like Hereditary and Relic. Just the sort of perfect midnight fare you require for your next injection of nightmare fuel.”

Year in, year out for 39 years, Vancouver’s alternative newspaper has emerged as the ‘go to’ media outlet for reliable, informed, out of the box and engaging Vancouver International Film Festival reviews. In 2020, during VIFF Virtual, such once again proves to be the case — with a difference this year, given that most of The Straight’s VIFF reviews were first printed in their sister paper, Toronto’s Now magazine.
Still and all, writerly élan makes for a wondrous read no matter the source of the original film reviews, and there are a great many reviews this year to aid you in putting your VIFF 2020 virtual film festival online schedule together, to completely consume your life over the 14 days commencing this upcoming Thursday, September 24th.

Music Sundays | Mimi & Josefin | Life Affirming

September 20, 2020Diversions, Food & Health, Music, Pop CultureRaymond Tomlin

Amidst our current pandemic, in these most difficult and trying of times, when sometimes things seem as if all is lost, with the dysfunction and division extant in America just down south, with the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and, locally, with this morning’s revelation by Charlie Smith in the newspaper where he has been the publication’s respected editor since 1991, The Georgia Straight, that Raymond Young, long one of our city’s and our nation’s most esteemed lawyers, whose practice focuses on all things municipal, recommending that Green Party of Vancouver City Councillor Michael Wiebe resign his seat on Council, arising from an egregious conflict of interest … well, these are not easy times for Michael, one imagines in particular today, nor for any of us.
Yesterday, I scrapped a Stories of a Life column I had written that, in essence, held my daughter to account for not using her many gifts to make a difference in the world that would benefit us all — if there was ever a person capable of achieving such, it is my very bright and compassionate daughter, Megan. The column was neither hopeful nor helpful — and who needs that given our current dire collective societal circumstance?
With that thought in mind, I looked to publish something today that is possessed of hopefulness, something inspiring and life affirming, and that has been for me much of last year and all of this year, the début of sisters Mimi & Josefin — the daughters of soprano Hélène Lindqvist, and music professor Philipp Vogler — on the German version of The Voice Kids, whose harmonies in their unique and compelling rendition of Thom Yorke and Radiohead’s 1993 hit, Creep, is both transporting and almost otherworldy.
So, without further adieu, Mimi & Josy …

VIFF 2020 | Compassion, Class, Isolation & Humanitarianism

September 18, 2020Cinema, VIFF 2020Raymond Tomlin

In the midst of our globe’s current COVID-19 pandemic, VanRamblings has chosen to present “previews” only of films that will be offered for screening online, and leave the In Cinema films on offer at the 39th annual Vancouver International Film Festival to other “critics”, all in the interest of keeping you safe from any harm, and any potential exigency of COVID-19.
Today, for your edification and enjoyment, four more well-curated VIFF 2020 films for you to consider, even as you traverse the rocky shoals of the upcoming 42nd British Columbia provincial election.

There Is No Evil (Germany/Czech Republic/Iran). Winner of this year’s top prize, the Golden Bear, at the Berlinale, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof could not attend the ceremony in Berlin, due to an Iran-sanctioned travel ban and possible prison sentence for his politically charged film.
Long banned from filmmaking in Iran but still active, screenwriter and director Rasoulof returns to the great moral themes that underlie all his work, as he orchestrates a cautionary tale comprised of four discrete chapters, creating a powerful moral case against Iran’s death penalty, tracking four military men tasked with executions, where to resist Iran’s authoritarian regime brings dire consequences, each compassionate story a standalone short film exploring a different facet of the subject.
Slow burning, at times enigmatic, one quasi-escapist tangent morphs into a sentimental romantic drama. But even so, overall Evil offers troubling film fare, sometimes didactic but always tension-filled and enthralling, the underlying moral conundrum of the film percolating through each chapter of There Is No Evil, set to emerge as one of VIFF 2020’s must-see films.

Citizen Penn (USA | Documentary). On January 12th, 2010, a devastating 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, altering the landscape and lives of millions. Aid workers from around the globe descended on the island, along with one unlikely leader — actor and filmmaker Sean Penn. What began as a brief relief attempt turned into a decade of dedicated effort on the part of Penn to not only save lives but to revitalize a community.
Citizen Penn chronicles the moment Penn arrives on the island, and the ten years since, as Penn the humanitarian carts supplies, builds tents, procures medicine, and calls on his Hollywood friends to join with financial support. Acclaimed documentarian Don Hardy (Pick of the Litter), with unprecedented access to this once very private figure, offers an intimate look at the challenges faced when one man decides to do something in the face of adversity. — Deborah Rudolph, Programmer, Tribeca Film Festival.

My Wonderful Wanda (Switzerland). Award-winning Swiss director Bettina Oberli’s entry this year to the Tribeca Film Festival, My Wonderful Wanda offers a story about an underpaid personal nurse from Poland, Wanda (Agnieszka Grochowska), who works for low wages for a well-to-do-family, who live in a spectacular Swiss villa alongside a picturesque lake.
Wanda’s job is to care for Josef (André Jung), the patriarch who is recovering from a stroke. As his 70th birthday approaches, in addition to nursing Josef, Wanda takes on some cleaning chores, while deriving yet another source of income from Josef that no one else knows about.
Originally set to début at Cannes this year, although the pandemic changed that plan, My Wonderful Wanda emerges as a caustic satire and comedy of errors, tackling issues of class, family, complacency, reputation, and money — which contrary to the belief of some, does not buy you happiness.
Anchored by Teen Spirit’s Grochowska, Downfall’s Birgit Minichmayr, with a brilliant turn by Marathon Man’s always wonderful Martha Keller, My Wonderful Wanda keeps the twists and turns coming, especially when Wanda’s father Pawel Kowalski (Cezary Pazura) steps into the chaos.

Siberia (Italy/Germany/Mexico). On the one hand, Siberia is a traditional story of an aging, existentially tortured artist who grapples with the decisions he’s made, a character who almost certainly serves as an avatar for the director, played by regular Ferrara leading man Willem Dafoe.
On the other hand, Siberia is an experiment in dream logic, filled with unhinged, almost Lynchian imagery and symbols. Yet, even so, the film is often quite evocative and affecting, Siberia the latest rumination on life from agent provocateur Abel Ferrara. As VIFF programmer Tom Charity writes on VIFF online, “This is pure cinema that takes no prisoners, and the darkest trip that 2020 has offered up — either on-screen or off.”
Visually striking, meticulously composed and a self-mythologizing existential journey, Wendy Ide writes in Screen Daily, “the film looks like the insta feed of a well-traveled psychopath, lacking honesty or meaning. Perhaps the Ferrara name and the extreme response to the picture following its première in Berlin might be enough to secure further festival bookings, and perhaps even sales to VOD platforms based on oddity value.”
Abel Ferrera. You either love him and his oeuvre, or he’s decidedly just not your cup of tea. British film critic Guy Lodge writes in his review in Variety, “There’s certainly feeling and fury in its study of disaffected masculinity left to fester in isolation, as the viewer is pulled along by the film’s strong, seductive, dreamlike current. As we are woken from our reverie when the darkness lifts, as a viewer we are left to wonder, “What just happened?”.