In this latest episode Coun. Paul Minhas appears as part of the regular Council Roundup feature. A number of topics were on the table including an interesting debate regarding the placement of a new public toilet at the corner of Begbie and Front St next to the Interurban building. Is the toilet still being installed, or isn't it? The more things change, the more they stay the same. It was StatusQuo2.0 at "Club41" aka Metro Vancouver this week as they chose their new chair of the Board. He is...

Special host Paul Minhas conducts an exclusive interview with Kayvan Rahmati, President and CEO of Waves Coffee House. They talk about the business climate in New West, patios and economic development. We also find out how Waves got its name and which public figure Kayvan most respects! We also bring back the popular "Bell or Buzzer" game and have Kayvan attempt to get all 4 responses right! Did he make it into the VIP Bell or Buzzer Club? Minhas also turns the tables on Coun. Daniel...

For the Record has a special host this week and its none other than Councillor Paul Minhas! He brings on to the podcast local business owner Kayvan Rahmati who owns Waves Coffee which is headquartered in New West. Minhas sits down with Rahmati for a wide ranging and interesting discussion about everything from the state of the business climate to what is Kayvan's favourite travel destination! Kayvan also plays Bell or Buzzer and he definitely surprises Minhas with trivia skills and knowledge...

This week's episode of For the Record with Daniel Fontaine is jam packed with a full hour of issues and topics of interest to both residents and business owners in the Royal City. To start off "The Way I See It" segment asks about whether we have enough competition in the construction sector? Would more competition help to lower the price tag for ballooning costs related to municipal construction projects? Why is so little attention being paid to why construction costs are now in...

We're pleased to announce that Paul Minhas will be hosting his first ever episode of For the Record! Have a listen to this promo where he talks about who is first two guests will be, and it may well surprise you.

In this episode of For the Record, we cover a number of topics and issues of interest to New West residents and business owners. We start off with our regular "The Way I See It" segment which focuses on why the provincial and federal governments were a no-show when it came to being a major funding partner for the new təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre. The project cost over $110M and that tab was picked up almost exclusively by municipal taxpayers. One local resident asked the local...

In this edition of For the Record with special guest Coun. Paul Minhas, we have an issue filled podcast! It starts off with "The Way I See It" which focuses on the issue of cutting down trees and how citizens are treated compared to city governments. Should city officials have to go through the same hoops and accountability for cutting down mature trees as do private property owners? During the Council Roundup, a number of topics that came up during the recent Council meeting are discussed....

$17,336.50. That's how much it cost Metro Vancouver taxpayers to send the Chair of Metro Vancouver to attend the 2023 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors Forum. Keep in mind, that's for just his airfare! He also attended the conference with two other civic politicians who sit on the Metro Vancouver board. Now Metro Vancouver Chair Mayor George Harvie is asking taxpayers to pay for his next junket to Amsterdam before he is removed in that role on July 1st. Media are reporting this ticket...

In Episode 27 of For the Record, we cover a number of topics and issues of interest to New West residents and beyond. We start off the podcast by discussing a number of motions that are making their way through New West city council. Have you noticed limited access to the City's waterfront lately due to a lack of working elevators? A motion will be coming to Council asking that we start keeping track of how many days our residents lose access to one or both elevators at the same time on our...

In this week's edition of For the Record, we cover off a number of interesting issues making news in the Royal City. A motion coming to city council later this month regarding decriminalization is sure to trigger a debate. It has already generated some media interest and you can listen to an interesting head-to-head discussion on CKNW's Mike Smyth Show featuring Garth Mullins of VANDU (Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users) and For the Record host Daniel Fontaine. The Jill Bennett Show on...

In this week's "The Way I See It", the focus is on a recent decision by Delta city council to remove Mayor George Harvie as their representative on the Metro Vancouver Board. That also had the effect of removing him as the Chair of Metro Vancouver which will mean a significant pay cut. Was his removal warranted? Harvie was essentially non-responsive to calls for a snow summit after our regional transportation network ground to a halt in the winter of 2022. He was also at the helm of Metro...

In this edition host Daniel Fontaine welcomes special guest Councillor Paul Minhas to the podcast. This edition was recorded in Whistler at the annual Lower Mainland Local Government Association (LMLGA) conference. In a wide ranging discussion, Fontaine and Minhas discuss a number of topics of interest to New Westminster residents and business owners. The podcast opens with a discussion focusing on Councillor Nadine Nakagawa's continued support for the decriminalization experiment in British...

It was a packed episode of For the Record this week with way too many topics to cover! Councillor Paul Minhas makes another appearance to review the April 22nd Council meeting and much more. Some the items discussed include a donation of $150,000 USD to the City of New Westminster. The source of the funds was Bloomberg Philanthropies which has as one of its stated goals to lobby civic politicians! You'll be interested to learn it took a trip to Dubai to become eligible to gain access to these...

Special guest Councillor Paul Minhas joins host Daniel Fontaine to discuss a number of issues of interest to local New West residents and businesses. What do you think about setting up a Canucks on Columbia Fan Zone? It would consist of a couple of big screens and would allow fans to visit Hyack Square to watch the playoffs. It would be a BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair) event and would be family-friendly. Will it happen? Does New West need more trees? During a recent bi-annual tree sale the City...

In this latest episode of For the Record host Daniel Fontaine covers a number of interesting topics including an opening editorial on the sport and recreation infrastructure deficit plaguing New Westminster. Will the opening of a new $114M aquatic and community center put a big dent in that deficit? Fontaine also paid a visit to the BC Legislature this week and had an exclusive sit down interview with MLA Elenore Sturko. She is a high profile member of the BC United Party and is the Official...

Host Daniel Fontaine has an exclusive interview with local Filipino activist and journalist Ted Alcuitas regarding his efforts to get Benson Flores the proper recognition he deserves. Benson Flores was the first Filipino on record to have settled in Canada - on Bowen Island, British Columbia in 1861. He died in 1929 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Vancouver. While Filipinos are known to have arrived in Canada in 1930s, this is disputed with the 'discovery' of Benson Flores by broadcast...

In this episode, special guest Councillor Paul Minhas and host Daniel Fontaine explore the financial and political ramifications of a costly overrun at a waste treatment plant under construction in North Vancouver. The original cost for this infrastructure project was pegged at $500 million, but now it's estimated to cost upwards of $4 billion dollars. Once all the dust has settled, North Shore residents will be paying about $725 more in taxes per year for three decades to partially offset...

NWP President and former council candidate Karima Budhwani is this week's special guest on For the Record. She chats with host Daniel Fontaine about what it took to win the recent New West school board by-election and speculates regarding whether another by-election might transpire soon - but this time at city council. Karima helps to demystify the role of her elector organization as it pertains to the four elected members of the NWP caucus. She also discusses her passion to protect the...

Special guest Rich Patterson appears on For the Record to speak about the state of our small businesses in New Westminster. Patterson speaks about how the local Chamber of Commerce was negatively impacted by the pandemic but is now seeing a resurgence of new members. Some of the other topics we explore include how the City's business license application process could be reformed to raise greater awareness of the Chamber and its activities. Fontaine also provides an opening commentary on a...

Small business owner Anita Dunn made headlines recently when she announced she was closing her high-profile Mila and Paige clothing store this spring. In her announcement, Dunn took direct aim at a raft of city-related decisions and initiatives that she believes led to the demise of her retail shop. Whether it was skyrocketing parking rates or the impact a lengthy sewer replacement project took on her business, Dunn says it all played a role in helping to keep customers away. She's also...

Join special guest New West Councillor Paul Minhas for a special Feb 26th City Council roundup discussion. We start the podcast off with our popular Bell or Buzzer game including a discussion on what's been happening to some iconic local small businesses. Other topics include a 14% property tax hike over two years; using the Heritage Revitalization Agreement process to protect a non-native tree planted in the 1960s; growing controversy regarding recent appointments to city committees; why an...

On this episode of For the Record, we chat with popular Delta City Councillor Dylan Kruger. Dylan was first elected to Council in 2018 and has made a big impression in his community. We cover a number of interesting topics including trucks smashing into overpasses, housing shortages and flood protection in both Delta and New Westminster. Dylan also touches upon the challenges of getting younger people engaged and elected to municipal councils across our province. What would our podcast be...

Special guest Councillor Paul Minhas joins the podcast to review the most recent New Westminster Council meeting which took place on Feb 5th. The meeting was cut short due to a disruption in the Chamber, but not before Council got to conduct some important business. In this podcast we discuss why a simple motion to visit PoCo and learn how they can increase services while keeping their taxes low - got defeated. The discussion also focused on the important need for local resident...

On Saturday, Feb 3rd Kathleen Carlsen 'beat the machine' and won the School District 40 by-election. This secured her a seat on the New Westminster School Board. In her first podcast appearance since being elected, Carlsen sits down to discuss the campaign and some of its more memorable moments. She also talks about the struggles that independent candidates have to win in New Westminster and the advantage of working in collaboration with an elector organization. Carlsen also talks about what...