Free Republic

“Housing in Vancouver is insane — it was insane when I left and it’s more insane now.”That’s from 33-year-old Kevin Oke, co-founder of LlamaZoo Interactive who left Vancouver for Victoria two years ago because he couldn’t afford to buy a home in his native city even while earning a generous salary as a lead designer at a video-game company whose clients included Atari and Ubisoft Entertainment SA.  Kevin isn't the only one leaving. Vancouver added only 884 net new people age 18-24 last year according to Statistics Canada, and many observers worry the soaring cost of housing will eventually strip the...

VANCOUVER -- Members of a small British Columbia aboriginal band are in a federal court room in Vancouver this week, as their 300-member community tries to stop the federal government from passing a free trade deal with China. The Hupacasath First Nation has launched a court challenge to the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, arguing that it infringes on aboriginal rights. "It's something all Canadians should be paying attention to," said Brenda Sayers, the organizer of the band's campaign against the deal. "We're looking at this as not being just a First Nations concern, but for all people...

During a Canada-China Business Council dinner held in January, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin jubilantly exclaimed, "From British Columbia, Canada is the ideal gateway from China to North America. Thanks to 15 years of free trade, and a decade of NAFTA, Canada can provide assured access to a continent [North America] that is largely barrier free." Few observers doubt that Martin's recent refusal to participate in the North American Missile Defense Shield will have profound implications for the Canada-U.S. bilateral relationship. However, it is his unmitigated support of domestic, pro-China policies allowing for increased Chinese immigration and tourism in western...