Episode 56: Dubai Debacle, Meat me in the Middle, Downloading Dilemma, Solar Savings, What's Temporary?

In this special Remembrance Day edition of FTR, we cover a number of topics that generated headlines and water cooler chat in New West and beyond. The podcast starts off with a discussion on the New West Mayor's Code of Conduct hearing at which his breach of the Community Charter Act was discussed and debated. In the end, the Mayor has been asked by Council to take some additional training - but was that enough? Who would have thought that e-bikes and a meat shop could collide. But they did this week when the Queen's Park Meat and Deli started a petition calling upon the Mayor and Council to remove an e-bike parking station. The owner was complaining that it resulted in two parking spots being removed from in front of his establishment. Did this story have a happy ending? The City of New Westminster is applying to the federal government for a grant to offset almost $2M in expenditures to set up a Crisis Response Team Pilot Project. Should New West taxpayers continue to do the job of the senior orders of government when it comes to dealing with the critical issues of mental health, homelessness and poverty on our streets? If you live in Burnaby you're eligible for up to $10,000 in grants to offset your costs to install solar panels and battery storage. If you live in New West not so much! That's because not all BC Hydro programs were created equally. Listen to how a NWP motion that came to Council may lead to more equity between BC Hydro and New West Electrical Utility customers. What do you define as temporary? 3 years? 6 years? That was the topic of discussion when Council debated the approval of a 'temporary' use permit for another homeless shelter downtown. In the end, 'temporary' got defined and the concerns of local residents were incorporated into the final decision. So how long is 'temporary'?Monday November 11th is Remembrance Day. Be sure to attend the special ceremony at New West City Hall at 10:30 am (rain or shine). This is a great way to pay respects to our soldiers and veterans who lost their lives over the course of so many global conflicts. If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to tell your friends, family and colleagues to follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all other major platforms.