Cascadia Report

Category: Vancouver

  • B.C.’s sports projects may be on chopping block

    Federal pork in the form of sports facilities in British Columbia may be cut as Canada’s ruling party tries to roll back some political favors.

    The C$70 million cuts threaten at least four major sports complexes now planned or under construction, plus several smaller ones, that were kicked off by Premier Gordon Campbell’s 2005 election pledges to ensure a legacy after the 2010 Olympics, according to the Vancouver Sun. The projects received funding but are under scrutiny after a change in ruling party earlier this year.

    Projects include a speed-skating track in Fort St. John, an indoor-outdoor track and field complex in Prince George and projects at universities in Vancouver and Victoria. Defenders say the projects will help enrollment at the schools and boost sports-related visits to the region.

  • Northern Cascadia wants its say on finances

    The interior and northern sections of British Columbia need more control over the billions of dollars they generate for the province in order to build more sustainable communities, according to an editorial today in Opinion 250.

    Unlike rural Oregon and Washington, which get more state funding than they contribute in taxes, the B.C. regions have little sway over the revenue they generate, which keeps the province afloat, according to the article. The forestry industry alone contributes C$5.4 billion a year to the provincial government, it says. The province has funds for the 2010 Olympics, new ferries and other programs but needed to privatitze the extensive B.C. Rail operation and hasn’t paid enough attention to stabilizing rural communities.

  • B.C. film industry may set record

    British Columbia’s film industry may be on track for its best year ever, defying the effects of a stronger Canadian dollar and competition from U.S. states.

    With 33 productions this year, the industry is already on par with 2005, when it contributed C$1.2 billion to the provincial economy, according to the Vancouver Sun. That economic impact is about 50 percent more than in 2003, when a rising Canadian dollar lessened B.C.’s cost advantage. Credit for the rebound comes from diversification of the industry, with a steady flow of made-for-TV movies, small-budget productions and animation.

    In Cascadia, Washington and Oregon are both trying to attract film production also, but the remaining currency edge, tax breaks and existing industry give B.C. critical mass. The Tyee recently reported that California’s renewed incentives to keep Hollywood working closer to home may mean that B.C. increasingly turns to Europe to supply its film industry.

  • Vancouver losing well-paid HQ jobs

    British Columbia is hemorrhaging headquarters jobs as big companies consolidate elsewhere, replacing high-paying office work with an economy based on trade and tourism.

    The province lost 29 percent of its head office jobs between 1999 and 2005. Though B.C. has low unemployment and is likely to keep adding jobs overall, just 53 of Canada’s top 500 companies are based there, down from 58 in 2004, according to the Financial Post. One blog notes that you can buy an overpriced house in Vancouver, but you can’t get a pizza, a burger or a coffee because there aren’t enough people to do those jobs.

    The trend matters because head offices cluster talent, and the jobs mean related work in law, accounting and other industries. according to the Business Council of B.C. The group wants the government to nurture mid-sized companies, cut taxes to make the province more appealing and “market Greater Vancouver to external corporate decision-makers.”

    Contrast the situation with Washington and Oregon. The Seattle area has five companies on the Fortune Global 500 list of top companies by sales: Costco, Weyerhaeuser, Microsoft, Paccar and Washington Mutual. Portland has Nike. Vancouver has none.

  • Downtown Vancouver faces crunch for work space

    Vancouver has been so successful at luring people to live downtown that it may run out of room for new jobs.

    City policies have helped push the downtown population to about 80,000. New data show that the city may run out of space for jobs downtown in as soon as five years. Planners are considering allowing higher towers — which have been limited to protect views — and may offer incentives for office developers.

    Seattle, which often seems to lust after Vancouver’s vibrant downtown, recently okayed zoning rules to allow more residential growth in the city core. But there’s little chance of a space crunch there, thanks to its large area and abundant freeways stretching to the suburbs.

  • Many questions for Canada’s new Liberal leader

    Canada’s Liberal Party named a new leader who it hopes will help it take power in a nationwide election next year. Whether the choice will pay off isn’t clear — and most U.S. media didn’t bother to even hazard a guess.

    Most U.S. newspapers covered the election of Montreal academic Stephane Dion with a few words from a newswire. The Seattle Times gave it three digest paragraphs (below a train accident in India).

    In the only full story in a major paper, The Washington Post credited the former environment minister’s pledge to work on “sustainable development” for his win. The Liberals oppose the ruling party’s reluctance on global warming issues and its conservative social and fiscal policies, such as cuts to government programs.

    In addition to the environment, Dion made vague pledges to fight for economic prosperity, social justice and environmental sustainability, according to the CBC’s account of his press conference.

    Closer to home, The Tyee pointed out that Dion is a well-connected Liberal who won the backing of the powers that be in British Columbia. The next several months will reveal what Dion can do with the win.

  • Project aims to bring luxury to Oregon

    A hotel renovation project in Portland aims to create Oregon’s first four-star luxury lodging, the latest in a trend that’s bringing more upscale properties to the region.

    Kimpton Hotels is remaking Portland’s Fifth Avenue Suites according to specifications required for the Mobil Four-Star rating. Predictably, local tourism officials see the project as a step toward that elusive goal of being “world class.”

    “To have a four-star Mobil property in Portland will put us on the map as a luxury destination,” the director of the Oregon visitors association told the Oregonian. “When people think of Portland, and Oregon, they think of us as casual and laid back. But it’s not all hiking and biking and brewpubs.”

    Several similar luxury projects are proposed or underway in Seattle and Vancouver. The new Portland hotel, to be called the Monaco, is supposed to open in 2007 and hopes to get the four-star rating — currently awarded to 119 properties in the U.S. and Canada. Holders of that rating already include Seattle’s Fairmont Olympic and the Bellevue Club. The seven British Columbia properties include the Four Seasons, Metropolitan and Sutton Place hotels in Vancouver, the Aerie Resort in Malahat, Hastings House on Salt Spring Island, Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino and Four Seasons Resort at Whistler.

  • Port consolidation may be back on the table

    The seaports in the Vancouver area may combine forces, a move that could make them more formidable competitors to Seattle and Tacoma.

    The Vancouver Port Authority and two ports along the Fraser River currently operate independently under a federal mandate to generate profit. Combining marketing and land development should help cut costs, though it’s unclear if they can increase productivity compared to Washington’s locally chartered ports.

    The move could revive the issue of cooperation in Washington between Tacoma and Seattle, which have been rivals since the 1860s. Tacoma still has plenty of room to grow but Seattle, which is seeing a decline in traffic, has agitated for years for consolidation among Puget Sound ports.

    At a conference earlier this month in Whistler, the director of Seattle’s seaport, Mark Knudsen, said the region’s ports will be forced to cooperate when each hits capacity and finds fiercer competition from other parts of the continent. Traffic has recently shifted to Los Angeles as space has become available there.

    “The question is if we become local stops or the major international gateway that we aspire to,” Knudsen told the Pacific Northwest Economic Region conference. “Shippers will all call in both Canada and the U.S. The question is if they will be big or small ships and how much discretionary goods will come through here.”

    Cascadia ports should cooperate to improve infrastructure and lower costs. West Coast ports currently move about 3,000 to 5,000 containers per acre each year, compared to a rate of 14,000 to 16,000 for ports in Asia, using virtually the same equipment and software.

  • B.C. wants to stop new private health clinic

    British Columbia’s government is looking for ways to stop a new for-profit private clinic that could help make the region a center for the medical industry.

    The Vancouver center would charge a fee for “urgent care,” a violation of the Canada Health Act, which governs the country’s publicly funded health care system and bans private billing for medically necessary services. Though some private clinics for specialized care already exist, critics see the latest as an attempt to undermine the social safety net rather than stimulate new industry. The government may seek a court order or financial penalties to prevent the clinic from opening this week.

  • National newspaper expands in B.C.

    British Columbia’s booming economy and population has convinced the national Globe and Mail to expand its presence in the region.

    Since launching a B.C. section of the paper in 2005, circulation in the province reportedly is up 8 percent on weekdays and 7 percent on weekends. The Toronto paper now has 13 journalists in Vancouver (up from two 20 years ago) and recently elevated the title of the new head of its B.C. office to editor from bureau chief. (Note: B.C. headlines from the Globe and Mail run on the left sidebar of this page.)