Quick Hits

• So BC women are weathering the recession by going into business for themselves.  According to Janine Brunelle of the Kelowna-based Women’s Enterprise Centre, not only have inquiries to her organization risen by 82 per cent from last year, but women “bring a different way of working in the world,” meaning “they often end up with more profitable businesses.”  One wonders if this trend will impact the male-dominated BC Entrepreneur of the Year awards in the future.

• I went to the Federal Liberal BC AGM last weekend in Whistler, a surprisingly jovial and unified affair in spite of the party’s difficult times.  Anyways, spoke to a faithful NPA member who swears to have seen Vancouver’s Penguin – and greeted him/her accordingly with a couple “Waugh, Waugh’s” – at the association’s AGM a few years back.  Much like the pariah that is Oswald Cobblepot, Vancouver’s version couldn’t stop ranting against everyone and everything in their path (which for this individual is usually all-encompassing).  Childhood bitterness translates into a burn-the-world-down type of mindset, which in turn leads to frequent and imbalanced outbursts, tirades and attacks, and eventually fosters complete isolation.  The search for this troubled soul, who has dropped off the map (by design), continues…

• The devil’s in the details, ladies and gentlemen.  I like this Council’s ability to make tweaks when called for by the public – here and here are the latest examples.  But either it is time to tell staff that they need to start submitting reports with recommendations based on more consideration for the stakeholders impacted, or Council itself needs to be able to make the necessary amendments initially so that adjustments don’t need to be made in the future.  Both of these above-linked stories never needed to become sources of consternation in the first place.

• I hope that the fact that the Bloedel Conservatory is losing about $240,000 a year the Stanley Park farmyard is losing $160,000 annually wasn’t a significant part of the Park Board’s decision to cut funding.  Public facilities that add to the community cannot be judged solely from a dollars and cents revenue generation perspective.  That being said, the fact that attendance has been declining in recent years, and the fact that the conservatory needs significant structural repairs – estimated in the $2 million range – most definitely should have been considered.  I find it rich that NPA councillor Ian Robertson can all of a sudden pull mysterious private donors out of the air, but his own party let the Conservatory wallow in deterioration for the entire decade of the 1990s – without the benefit of private or public money.  Convenient short memories, as per usual with either Robertson or lone-NPA councillor Suzanne Anton.

• I have some huge issues with this letter from wife of a city employee “Jennifer” as posted on Frances’ blog.  This is in no way to diminish the stress that her husband are experiencing, as with a young child, I sympathize with their situation.  On the other hand, here are a few comments/questions for this letter writer:

1. If you chose to take off work to raise your child (an honourable thing to do, don’t get me wrong), then there is obviously going to be less financial stability with your family’s situation.  That is a choice you and your husband made, for which there are always going to be good and bad consequences for.
2. You never thought that this could happen to you?  Your husband works in the public sector, which means that his salary is paid for by taxpayers.  As such, these jobs are always potentially at risk depending on the economic climate, the city’s revenues, the government-in-power’s policies, etc.  Thus this statement is completely naive to me (and in consideration of what has happened to the global economy over the past year, how is the possibility of losing one’s job something that you “never thought…could happen to you?”)
3. To say that the cuts being made in the city could be “responsible for the destruction of my family” is absolutely ludicrous.  Where does self-responsibility come into play?  Like for example, your decision not to work.  This is a statement that is beyond comprehension to me.
4. “Most people over 55 can retire and should retire.”  Well, tell that to my Mom who is 64 and determined to go until 70, or to the 57-year old who just lost half of their savings in the markets over the past year.  This is a self-serving type of determination that goes completely against the trends that say that mandatory retirement in Canada is becoming a thing of the past.
5. You are now suggesting that the City adopt a four-day work week, representing a 20 per cent pay cut across the board.  Were you advocating for that when you and your husband considered your situation “very fortune” and “stable”?  I highly doubt it.

That’s it for now.  Out for a bunch of meetings, but will have something up later in the day.