Your Digital Fill – Music and Motors

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Michael Boronowski

Michael Boronowski here – filling in on Digital Fill for you while the fearless leaders are away in the wrong part of the country. I’m going to be a bit selfish here and post about two things I love, music and hot cars. This is probably the least sustainable post in the history of the gumboot, enjoy!

This is Nick

Friend and fellow petrol head Tarasch Rawjee recently took a weekend to fly to France to shoot a video with Nick Bracegirdle of Chicane, and probably the hottest Audi RS4 you’ll see for quite a while. Flying from Vancouver to France and back for a couple of days of shooting is madness (and some heftily strategic air-miles planning) but if you at all enjoy electronic music, cars, or wonder what makes a wizard musician and producer tick, you’ll find that the results were well worth it. Here’s the teaser- check out the rest via Skiddmark.com

Stagettes – not just (all) about drunken debauchery

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Michelle Burtnyk-Horn

How many people do you know this summer getting married? 2? 8? 16? Chances are, you’re attending at least a few weddings this season – you may even be attending mine (if you are – book your ferries, people!). With wedding planning comes much fanfare, slightly ridiculous behavior (as a good friend of mine said the other day, weddings tend to bring out the worst in people, and funerals bring out the best), heightened emotions, and absurd displays of consumerism (artificial wedding cakes? Really?). With that being said, there’s also incredibly rich and powerful moments of community, support, creativity, and fun.

While different aspects of wedding planning bring out more or less of the above qualities, I believe all of the above can be found in the ubiquitous stagette. With a short history dating back to the 1960s and rooted in the sexual revolution, stagettes (or bachelorettes for you American readers out there) have become as far-reaching as the ever-popular and deeply rooted bachelor party. With different cultural and social manifestations allowing women to express themselves and their female relationships in ways that are meaningful to them, the stagette can be seen as a symbol of female empowerment and gender equality. The more recent phenomenon of stag-and-doe parties (the equivalent of a combined stag and stagette party) takes this concept to a new – and very interesting – place.

I recently had my stagette. While I will not be disclosing any of the … um .. shenanigans that took place (don’t worry, Steph, Sarah and Danielle – your secrets are safe with me… and everyone who has access to the Facebook photo album!), I would like to comment on the importance of the stagette to our cultural and social fabric. Most importantly, stagettes encourage female bonding. In our fast-paced society, and at a time in our lives where our girlfriends are getting married, having children and pursuing careers, it’s really, really hard to spend quality time with girlfriends – especially as a group. Something very special happens when you get a group of 10-15 ladies together for a night where there are no worries about familial or career commitments, and it’s something that should be valued and treasured. Stagettes also expand community. I’m not gonna lie – I was a bit nervous about bringing together disparate groups of friends spanning my high school and university days, work, family, and new friends made through my lovely fiancé – but it was a wondrous thing. It made me appreciate what I love about each of the dynamic, genuinely kind and strong women who were present, and it’s always a rewarding thing to see your network connect and strengthen.Stagettes also give the wedding party – and the bride-to-be – a chance to let loose and de-stress before the big day. Trust me – as much as you try to avoid the drama that comes with wedding planning, recent findings* show that this is impossible.

So, to all you thousands of ladies out there gearing up for the big day, I encourage you to really appreciate and savor your stagette – it will certainly hold a spot in you memory bank (of course, some of these memories may never be shared, due to female obligation and/or threats of death) for years to come!

*Qualitative feedback from a random sampling of brides-of-past, present and future.

DG Free Ticket

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Kurt Heinrich

Spinning Wheels

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Michael Boronowski

Happy Tuesday everybody, and what a Tuesday it is.

The 1st of June, one of the best months on the books, four to five days from some important birthdays, and it’s day 2 of Bike to Work Week.

The wheels on the bus bike go round and round…

cc image from oedipusphinx on flickr

There have been a few posts here about how getting out of your car and traveling through communities by bike or foot or skate is an amazing way to discover your communities.

While that’s true, in the pouring rain it can also be one of the least pleasant, especially if you’re traveling through your and other communities early in the morning on your way to work, and are totally unprepared for the realities of self-propelled commuting.

A recent change of employment has meant that rather than living 5 minutes from work I’d be traveling from Burnaby to West of Main for work.

Friends, family, readers, learn from my mistakes. I give you:

Pointers for Practical Pedaling in the Land of Persistent Precipitation

1. Get thee nikwax

Seriously, go spend the $15 and enjoy renewed water repellency. I’ve used both TX Direct spray-on and wash-in and they work wonders. Nothing spoils a super fun blast in the rain faster than soggy sous-vêtements. Remember to do your pack or pannier too!

2. Give yourself extra time

It’s not a race unless it’s actually a race. Being all hot and sweaty can be awesome, but it looses it’s appeal at 9:45 or so when that hot sweat has transformed into a crust of salt.

3. Get out during bike week and Velopalooza

You can start riding anytime, but rolling around during these celebrations is intoxicating. There’s about five-thousand things to do over the next few weeks. Check out http://www.biketoworkmetrovan.ca/ and http://www.velopalooza.ca/ and get yourself connected.

4. Spend some time and very little money at Our Community Bikes

Their experts will help you wrench on your ride, and their parts are practically unreasonably low in price. They’ve got all the tools your could need, and their mechanics are an awesome resource. You’ll learn to maintain your ride in an awesome environment, meet some serious characters, and support a great group of people in the process.

5. Smile and wave, especially at kids

People are cool, especially kids and people on bikes. I’ve learned some great tricks for generating good on my way to work:

- Make goofy faces at kids under the age of 10 or so. Also, get really wobbly and pretend to nearly fall while waving enthusiastically, and then wink, kids love it.
- Give cool-kid head nods to kids older than 10, they’re totally way to cool for goofyness.
- Unplug your headphones. Music is cool, but you can’t hear the awesome old-guy say high or tell you your backpack strap is about to get caught in your spokes.

6. Have fun

That’s it, the final tip is to remember that biking is awesome, fun is awesome, and you’re awesome for having fun on a bike. The world is a playground, come out and play!

Gumboots: for the love of style, function, history and hilarity

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Michelle Burtnyk-Horn

Gumboots have somehow, over the last few years, sneakily sloshed their way into my life. A mere three years ago, my

life was gumbootless … and like text messaging, my electric toothbrush and Facebook … I now wonder how I could have ever lived without them.

There are a lot of great things to say about gumboots, so with no further ado, here are the top five reasons why gumboots may in fact be my favorite type of shoe and community … and should probably be yours too:

1. I don’t think any other type of shoe has so many hilarious names: Wellingtons, rubbers, wellies, topboots, barnboots, muckboots, rainboots, blucher boots and of course, gumboots. This wide array of names is pretty hilarious on it’s own (muckboots!), but also speaks to the diversity of those who wear these footwear phenoms: those who tread in muck, barns, rain, and, um, uppity English courtyards are all connected by this fabulous boot.

2. Gumboots have, in some odd, inextricable way, become the theme for my upcoming wedding and thus a symbol for love and happiness! From invitations to optional attire to event signage to table decorations to photographs, these bad boys will be left, right and centre at the big event. The big question is … do you know why? Take this super-secret wedding website quiz and see how well you know your Gumboot (of the Daily variety) correspondents and editors, and how well you remember information from posts past (there may or may not be an extra wedding invitation on the table for the first person who guesses correctly*)

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3. Gumboots defy barriers and bridge generations, classes and worlds! From mischievous three year olds running around jumping in puddles to a worker wearing wellies with reinforced toes in an industrial mine to a farmer in the field to a fashionable city girl wearing shiny red gumboots to complete her outfit, gumboots create a common ground (figuratively and literally) whereby unlike individuals become more like, creating an opportunity for .. you guessed it … community to be fostered and grown.

Gumboot Dancers in South Africa

4. Gumboots are rich in history and have permeated the cultural fabric of communities around the world. Check out this article for a fascinating look at how gumboots have become a part of the cultural landscape worldwide. One of my favorite stories: In South Africa, the sound of people dancing in gumboots is often incorporated into semi-traditional popular music, known as “gumboot zydeco”. This dance began as a form of communication in the late 19th century in the gold mines of South Africa. Because miners were forbidden to speak to one another, they communicated using their work attire (which included gumboots) and native tribal rhythms. This story is just one among many – from Australia to Canada to Russia to Scandinavia, Gumboots have their own unique histories and cultural significance.

5. Gumboots are the perfect balance of style and function. Whether you need protection from rain, muck, concrete, or dangerous chemicals, gumboots can serve your needs – and keep you looking stylish all the while!

So there it is. In my humble opinion, individuals should be exposed to gumboots on a daily basis – and since it’s a little silly to be wearing gumboots in the summer (except at a wedding, that is), I suggest you get your dose by tuning it to The Daily Gumboot, where you’ll find the same caliber of hilarity, history, style, functionality, and world-bridging community as you’d find in a regular ol’ Wellie.

*Sadly, friends, there are not extra wedding invitations to be given out. But hey, that’s not to say you can’t make your way up to Merville and lurk in the nearby bushes (you may need gumboots for this) to take in the festivities!

May 1st: A celebration of the best we could be

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Peter Joerdell

The best thing to report, when it comes to political demonstrations involving radical parties, is when there’s nothing to report. As I informed you all in my last post, two neo-nazi parties, ProNRW and the NPD, singled out Solingen for public rallies on May 1^st.

Downtown Solingen: Everyone was on their feet for the counter-demonstration. Photo: Lilian Muscutt

The good news is: Nothing happened, no clash between left-wing activists and the Nazis. The better news is: The Nazis had to abandon both rallies after short periods of time, because the sheer decibel-volume of all counter-protestors made it impossible in both locations for the Nazis to hold speeches without getting a hoarse throat instantly – while still speaking over a PA. Well, yours truly also suffered from a sore throat the next day, as did many counter-protestors. But it was absolutely worth it, shouting these idiots down.

Yet the best thing is: It wasn’t just the usual left-wing activists (some of them dubious) who came for their average nazi rally-tourism, and a friendly “bash” with the police as they do so often. No, my friends, the whole CITY was on its feet. All political parties, from green, liberal, socialist to conservative, all unions, all churches and congregations, the mayor and high ranking town-officials, local companies, citizens young and old, hipsters, gays, lesbians, blacks, whites, Asian people, Solingers from the East, the West, and what have you places on Earth – everyone was there. Including some people I hadn’t met in quite a while, it was a bit like a school-reunion. There were bands playing, probably around 1000 people alone downtown attending the counter-demonstration, it was a good day for democracy in our town. Remindful of “No way back” by the Foo Fighters: “No more left and right, Come on take my side, I’m fightin’ for you…” It was really a colourful celebration of the best that our city and German society can aspire to be: A meeting place for many cultures and beliefs, kept alive by a spirit of mutual respect under the roof of our constitution.

Well, but one bitter drop there is: Of course we also have to thank 800 police-men and -women for doing a great job

Thumbs up for the police: 800 officers did a good job in keeping the peace. Photo: LM

on this day. Since of course, had they abandoned the two protective cordons for the Nazis downtown and near the main station, the peaceful demonstration would surely have turned into a street battle. Right up front with the hardcore antifascists, the real radicals, the atmosphere had heated up quite quickly, insults were shouted, battle hymns sung (some of them funny, I really liked taunting the Nazis singing “You lost the war, you lost the war” to a famous soccer-stadium melody), eventually there were three arrests, in one case because someone had thrown a bottle at a departing van full of Nazis.

Interestingly, there were fewer Nazis then expected. ProNRW managed to mobilize some 70 people instead of the assumed 200, and the NPD – well it looked like a small school-class, no more (those guys I could see better, when I was at the barricades in Ohligs with my buddy Zeli, the ProNRW rally was sealed off way better).

Around one p.m., the spook was over. Both groups had given up by then and left the town. Victory for “Solingen is

Do the silly walk, kick the nazis out: Some of the messages delivered by protestors were poignant and funny. Photo: LM

colourful instead of brown”, the driving force behind getting everyone up and saying no to fascism. Full credit goes to them, their committee really did a great job in getting everyone together and in action. Especially the NPD-rally in Ohligs gave me the creeps. Because it was in a spot that I walk by almost daily (right in front of my union savings bank-branch), and for a couple of minutes, you could hear the leader addressing his boot-boys. It sounded like a Hitler-speech. Weird and creepy. And I admit: It made me angry. Which is probably a good thing in this case.

I’ll leave you with a few quotes from friends of mine, whom I met at the demonstrations:

Uli Preuss, journalist and fotographer: “Ever since when in a right wing-case of malicious arson, five Turkish people died in 1993, Solingen has been especially sensitive and on its guard against right wing-tendencies. It’s part of the culture of our town, to defend ourselves against brown propaganda. Greetings to Canada and the Gumboot-readers all over the globe!”

Lilian Muscutt, freelance-journalist and novelist: “It’s somehow tough, that these two groups had the cheek to come

A lot of people felt reminded of 1993, when right wing-perpetrators burnt down the house of a Turkish family, killing five occupants. One of the blackest in the recent history of the city of blades. This a picture from the day after the fire.

to Solingen. The past, i.e. the murders of 1993 make their appearance here unbearable.”

Dr. Markus Butz, neurologist at University of Duesseldorf: “I am here, because this city belongs to all the people living here. And I feel insulted as a Solinger, because nazi-extremists try to spread their hatred here. Especially the campaign against Islam appals me as a Christian.”

Some moving pictures from the day: Uli Preuss’s report for the web-TV of “Solingen Daily”:

http://www.solinger-tageblatt.de/tv/?id=659

Welcome to the quagmire: German dialects!

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Peter Joerdell

As we delved into language and community with the bit on Germans and English in one of my last contributions, this time I take thee, dearest fellow-gumbooteer and interested, keen reader of this blog (hi, parents of John Horn!) into the linguistic quagmire that is Germany: Welcome to German dialects!

In contrast to nations derived from colonies like the US or Canada, Germany has not just accents, it has actual dialects – varieties of the common High Language or Standard Language that are far older, than that very concept itself (okay, I know there’s stuff like Pennsylvania Dutch, but that’s more like an island of German…). They usually stem from the West Germanic or other Indo-European root-languages. Hence, one could argue, some German dialects are still closer to the tongues spoken by German tribes when the Roman empire stretched to the banks of the Rhine than to today’s standard variety of German (which by the way, is just the variety spoken in and around Hannover).

Solingen's "Kottens": Small, rather workshop-like cutlery factories, running on water power. High German wasn't heard in them until the early 20th century.

Unfortunately, most regional dialects have almost died out, because late in the 19th century it was accepted doctrine in Wilhelminian society that dialects are not the spearhead of progress. In the 20th century, the battle gathered momentum: In fact, my great-grandma went to great pains that my mum ought NOT to speak our dialect (Solinger Platt, as it is called) lest it hinder her from getting a better position later on in life (mum was basically raised by Oma Selma, who died around 1955 when my mum was 12 years old). And Oma Selma spoke nothing but Platt (she never mastered High German, according to my mum).

The result is, that my sis and me (born in ’71 and ’78) are able to understand our dialect, but we aren’t fluent in it. We can sort of make up a conversation, but a real expert will know that we may be from in and around Solingen, yet that we normally speak High German in our everyday lives. Platt is funny too, because it’s closer to Dutch and English than High German. In Platt “Zieh Dich an, beeil Dich” (Standard-German for “Hurry, get your clothes on”) means “Trek Dich ens aan, mak fueran” (note the vocabulary differences – would you’ve thought it’s the same language?). Now that’s a sentence I sometimes heard from gran when I was in danger of being late for school…

Not known was a lover of dialects: The last German emperor, Wilhelm II.

So, the dialects were deliberately sentenced to extinction because of political will (and to a certain extent necessity, because a worker from my region wouldn’t have been able to understand someone living in Bavaria, a hundred years ago), and now, a good hundred years later, people have realized what they’ve lost: A piece of truly community-forging regional identity.

In fact, when I first visited a friend in Thuringia in the East, in Weimar, around ’98, was the first time that I really noticed that the “Standard German” that me and my buddies speak isn’t so Standard after all. Five minutes after getting out of the car and into the first beer, all the easterners remarked that “we all sounded like Carsten (the guy we were visiting)” and that we all had “a Rhenish sing-song intonation”. They keep telling me the same everytime I go to Hessia, too.

Yet there are people who keep the dialects alive. Here in Solingen, there are groups who stage plays in it (either adaption of known stuff or pieces by their own playwrights, one famous example being Heidi Theunissen – whenever her new plays are on, the municipal theatre here is sold out!), and there are even some active poets. And our daily newspaper here in Solingen, for which I worked as an editor and reporter up to 2006, even features a daily column in Solinger Platt.

Once you enter the world of dialects, you encounter serious nerds anywhere in Germany – they all love their dialects and they all do a lot about it. For once I gotta hand it to Bavaria: There, they even teach their dialects still in school. I don’t think we’ll ever get there again here in the West. I’ll leave you with a line from Trent Reznor: “My words just echo off these walls…”

Oh, and one more thing. Two vids that allow you direct comparison between Standard German and “Plattduetsch”, the dialect spoken in the North. You all surely know the English original…

Entering the ethnosphere with Wade Davis

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Michelle Burtnyk-Horn

Recently, I had the privilege of attending a CBC Studio One Book Club, where I, along with Daily Gumboot editor-in-chief John Horn and about 40 other lucky souls, spent an inspiring hour and a half listening to and learning from renowned anthropologist Wade Davis. Facilitated by the engaging host of CBC’s North by Northwest Sheryl MacKay, Davis took us on a journey from the hills of Japan to the depths of the Columbian Amazon, exploring cultures that are at risk of being driven out of existence, and reflecting on why such ancient wisdom matters in our modern world. This question forms the basis of Davis’ new book, The Wayfinders, for which he is currently undertaking a cross-country tour as CBC’s 2009 Massey Lecturer.

Mr. Davis’ accomplishments are exceptional in both breadth and scope: he is an ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker, and has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet, and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity” by National Geographic, where he is their explorer-in-residence. A self-proclaimed storyteller, Davis spent 90 minutes in the retro-chic CBC studio enrapturing the audience with tales of peril, adventure, and hope. Through these stories, we collectively left with a contrasting sense of urgency and optimism – not what I expected coming into a talk about disappearing indigenous cultures.

Of the 7,000 languages spoken around the globe, half are not being taught to children and are at great risk of being lost. In Costa Rica, non-indigenous people have rapidly encroached onto indigenous territory: currently, 80% of indigenous territory is in the hands of non-indigenous people. British colonization. Canadian residential schools. The ways in which indigenous cultures have been put in jeopardy by external egregious forces are beyond measure. And still, Davis was able to instil in us a sense of hope for the future – for the inherent ability to respect difference. For the need, in this globalized world filled with the dangers of climate change and limited resources, to find a way to appreciate the diverse ways of thinking and interacting with the earth, and to accept that “traditional” ways of living are not inferior to “modern” ways, but instead reflect different paths taken. In the words of Wade Davis: “Together the myriad of cultures makes up an intellectual and spiritual web of life that envelops the planet and is every bit as important to the well being of the planet as is the biological web of life that we know as the biosphere”. Indeed.

One of the most inspiring tales of resiliency and strength told by Davis describes his recent journey to the Northwest Amazon of Columbia, whereby indigenous inhabitants of the land thrive in a revitalized culture, made possible by Columbian President Virgilio Barco Vargas (1986-1990), who gave legal land title to this group of aboriginals, among others. One of the most fascinating and wonderfully enchanting facts about the peoples in this region of the Amazon: in order to marry, one must marry someone who speaks a different language than they do. This is done in order to facilitate peace and vitality within the region. Through stories and fact, Davis dispelled the myth that culture is a fragile thing – something that can be broken, eradicated, destroyed. Instead, he paints a portrait of culture as something inherently strong, resilient, and dynamic, if given the change to be.

Margaret Mead, honoured anthropologist, expressed her concern about diminishing cultural diversity, stating: “as we drift toward a more homogeneous world, all of human potential might be reduced to a single modality, a blandly amorphous generic culture”. Within our increasingly globalized world, our duty as global citizens is to embrace the diversity of indigenous cultures, which contribute to the dynamic ethnosphere that makes our world such a rich and vivid place to live. For those readers who haven’t had the opportunity to see Wade Davis speak, I would strongly encourage you to check out his recent talks on TED.com

Urban Planning and Oxygen

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Kurt Heinrich

Riding through vineyards is fun - but watch out for snakes.

Urban planning is a lot like oxygen, you don’t miss it until you realize you no longer have it.

I realized this on my recent father-son bike tour through the Okanagan. Last week my dad and I set out to wander the vineyards of the Okanagan and test our mettle against the windy hills of Penticton and beyond. During the journey, we visited three small Okanagan cities and one small town.

In Penticton, we found the first great example of a contrast between good and bad urban planning. The effects on local community were just as obvious. As we drove into the city, we were met with a strip of fast food joints all serving the same cheap, unhealthy stuff. The roads were large and the parking lots massive and packed with every type of American built truck you could imagine. After cruising by half-a-dozen RV parks, drive-in motels and big box stores we finally found ourselves in the three square blocks of downtown Penticton. Unlike the train wreck of urban sprawl we witnessed on entry to the city, downtown Penticton was quaint with a variety of small cafes, a couple little mom and pop restaurants and a used book store that was to die for. There was even a local community mural project that had drawn dozens of young artists to spray a wide array of different gorgeous designs on the walls (some of these designs were as impressive as Vancouver’s recent offering of community art). The whole project was funded by the Penticton Business Improvement Association.

On the streets, there weren’t to many people wandering around, and I imagined many of the residents of the city now avoid the downtown area for their shopping needs preferring the big box shops we’d passed by. Transit was basic to say the least and considering the sprawl of large single level houses out into the hills, it’d be almost impossible to provide decent service. As a result people drive – everywhere.

The thought made me sad. It also made me lonely, as I glanced around it was difficult finding many people (oh so vital for most communities) on the streets.

The next day, we set out on our bikes for OK Falls. Along we went, hugging the side of Skaha Lake and passing dozens of for sale signs. It seemed at time that half the Okanagan was for sale – thousands of retirees who were retirees no more following the market’s collapse and were desperately trying to sell back their dream homes in the face of market cataclysm.

When we arrived at OK Falls, we got yet another treat of just how important decent urban planning is to making a town desirable. Unlike other small towns I’ve driven through, which lay in far less gorgeous a location, OK Falls had no centre. In the mad rush to cash in on development, RV parks and gated villas were given run of the beach area. A few blocks back, on what seemed to pass for main street, the few shops stood depressed and devoid of any particularly welcoming vibe. It wouldn’t be a stretch to watch tumbleweeds pass by the deserted, dusty streets.

Contrast this with Naramata, another small town on another lake (Okanagan Lake rather than Skaha) and you see the opposite. Even in a depressed fall economy, Naramata had a core at the bottom of the hill and seemed quaint rather than desolate. The shops there were well maintained and the streets were surrounded by dozens of pretty and smaller homes and cottages. Unlike OK Falls, there was no highway running through the town.

OK Falls Aint Ok.

Later in the trip we visited both Oliver and Kelowna. Both cities had a far denser main street/downtown areas and with that density and local business feeling came much more economic and social activity. Kids riding bikes, people sipping coffee or wine at local cafes, and general businesses setting up shop all build community.

It became increasingly clear that although all of these things seem possible in a district surrounded by dozens of wineries, which draw millions of tourist dollars each summer, they can be undermined by poor urban planning.

These days, the more I travel and see other ways cities and towns have developed, the more conscious and thankful I am for the wise planners up in City Hall. Way to go folks. Way to keep Vancouver from being a really big version of Penticton.

Better Representation for our Civic Communities

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Kurt Heinrich

The important issue of how to best represent our communities around the province recently went under the spotlight following Premier Gordon Campbell’s announcement of a new election-reform task-force at the Union of BC Municipalities Conference on Oct 2. According to the Georgia Straight:

At the UBCM convention, Campbell announced the creation of a task force with two MLAs and chaired by the UBCM president and the cabinet minister responsible for local government. It will hold a consultation process and make recommendations for a new municipal-election law next spring.

The question of municipal campaign and election reform isn’t new.

3070462744_c5188919af In October of 2004, Vancouverites had a referendum, which canvassed the public’s appetite to radically transform the existing civic landscape and create a ward system whereby councillors would be elected by and responsible to specific sections of the city.

Relative to the 293,263 registered voters in the November 16, 2002 civic election, turnout for the Decision 2004 (yup, that was the catchy name of it) plebiscite was 22.6 per cent.

For many BC voters, their disinterest stemmed from their lack of understanding of the issue at hand. Now, as change starts to move towards us yet again, it’s important that we take a good look at all the options we can use to elect our civic representatives.

Currently, Vancouver uses an at-large system to elect a mayor, ten councillors, seven park commissioners, and nine school trustees. That means when you go to vote, you’re voting for everyone (all 27 positions). Theoretically, that also means everyone is responsible to your interests, whether you’re a store owner in Kitsilano or a South Asian immigrant living next to the Punjabi market. The idea is that anyone can go to any city councillor about their particular issues. While caucuses tend to divide issues according to their specialties, everyone is technically on the hook to know about every issue in every neighbourhood.

Money makes the election world go round.

As a result, there is no one directly responsible (and who’s office is responsible) for responding to your concerns. It also means that during an election campaign, the only way the vast majority of people can decide on which no-name candidate (with the exception of the mayor) they’re going to vote for is with the help of political parties.

Enter the multi-million dollar campaign and massive amounts of time and money spent by candidates looking to acquire a spot on one of the main slates. As each party attempts to out raise/spend their opponents its easy to see how election financing can get out of hand. In Vancouver last election in 2008, the political parties raised and spent well over $3 million, an unheard of amount, prior to the election. This whopping number (keep in mind federal ridings are capped at $75K), doesn’t include the thousands of dollars raised for private bids for party nomination.

All of this tends to cloud the grassroots nature of what elected representation (particularly at the municipal level) is supposed to be all about.

That’s why the rest of the country (with the exception of a few cities in Quebec) uses a ward-system.

According to this model, you vote only for your ward rep and for the mayor. This allows local champions to come forward and directly connects the future of elected representatives to their district. Critics say it also offers an incredibly unfair advantage to incumbents and slaves councillors to the special interests of their particular ward making it more difficult to push forward large programs and plans that may be the best for the city but negative for a particular area of the city. In a recent article, the Toronto Star described many of the issues with the wards system.

So what’s the solution? Neither system is perfect, but what is clear is Vancouver’s current at large system is totally unsustainable and not particularly beneficial to anyone in the long term. There needs to be some changes – some would say big changes – to how people are elected. Add to this the fact that there are finance restrictions at both the provincial and federal level, and one wonders why cities are still the wild west of election financing. Something has to give – or we’ll just keep spending more and more, without any better representation.

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