Latest news with #MikeKlassen
CBC
22-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Vancouver councillor addresses business concerns over FIFA contract
Last week, the website, theBreaker, detailed the City of Vancouver's contract with FIFA ahead of the upcoming 2026 World Cup in the city. The contract outlines how a large zone around B.C. Place stadium will have to be closed to traffic, prompting major concerns from businesses in downtown Vancouver. In response, Coun. Mike Klassen says that only certain businesses — like those seeking to compete with event sponsors, or pop-up food stands — will be affected by the closures.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Yahoo
Vancouver council to decide whether to ban sale of gun-shaped lighters in the city
Vancouver city staff are recommending council ban the sale of gun-shaped lighters in the city. On Wednesday, council will vote on the proposal from the city's chief licence inspector after the matter was raised in a motion from councillor Mike Klassen. A ban would come with a $1,000 fine for non compliance. Staff are also asking that a letter be sent to the provincial government calling for legislative amendments to make the ban provincewide. 'Staff recommend amending the licence bylaw to prohibit the retail sale of gun-shaped lighters as a measure to increase public safety and limit an increase in the number of devices in circulation,' the report to council states. 'Staff propose an amendment to the Ticket Offences bylaw to make the sale of GSLs a ticketable offence with a fine of $1,000. Staff also propose that the mayor, on behalf of council, write a letter to the provincial government requesting legislative amendments to prohibit the sale, distribution, and possession of GSLs in British Columbia, as well as consider legislative changes to empower law enforcement to seize these devices proactively and prevent their continued proliferation in communities across the province.' A gun-shaped lighter is defined as a hand-held device that produces a flame, resembles a firearm, and includes an igniter or trigger, barrel and stock. This includes torch style lighters that look like a firearm due to the shape of the barrel and/or handle. There were 162 police calls about the lighters last year, more than half of which were classified as 'priority weapons calls' — meaning they led to a response involving several officers armed with Tasers, less-lethal beanbag shotguns and Arwen riot guns. With file from Joe Ruttle dcarrigg@ Related Gun-shaped lighters: Councillor seeks ban as they proliferate in Vancouver Boy, 15, stabbed to death near Vancouver's Robson Square: VPD
Vancouver Sun
22-07-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Vancouver council to decide whether to ban sale of gun-shaped lighters in the city
Vancouver city staff are recommending council ban the sale of gun-shaped lighters in the city. On Wednesday, council will vote on the proposal from the city's chief licence inspector after the matter was raised in a motion from councillor Mike Klassen. A ban would come with a $1,000 fine for non compliance. Staff are also asking that a letter be sent to the provincial government calling for legislative amendments to make the ban provincewide. 'Staff recommend amending the licence bylaw to prohibit the retail sale of gun-shaped lighters as a measure to increase public safety and limit an increase in the number of devices in circulation,' the report to council states. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'Staff propose an amendment to the Ticket Offences bylaw to make the sale of GSLs a ticketable offence with a fine of $1,000. Staff also propose that the mayor, on behalf of council, write a letter to the provincial government requesting legislative amendments to prohibit the sale, distribution, and possession of GSLs in British Columbia, as well as consider legislative changes to empower law enforcement to seize these devices proactively and prevent their continued proliferation in communities across the province.' A gun-shaped lighter is defined as a hand-held device that produces a flame, resembles a firearm, and includes an igniter or trigger, barrel and stock. This includes torch style lighters that look like a firearm due to the shape of the barrel and/or handle. There were 162 police calls about the lighters last year, more than half of which were classified as 'priority weapons calls' — meaning they led to a response involving several officers armed with Tasers, less-lethal beanbag shotguns and Arwen riot guns. With file from Joe Ruttle dcarrigg@
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Vancouver explores subdividing laneway homes
The City of Vancouver is looking at opening more avenues to home ownership. On Wednesday, council unanimously approved a motion for staff to explore the idea of allowing the subdivision or stratification of laneway homes. The motion was tabled by ABC councillors Sarah Kirby-Yung and Mike Klassen. Klassen said there are about 6,000 of these kinds of homes in Vancouver. 'It's really a way to look forward on how we actually use land within our residential neighborhoods,' he said. 'Laneway houses are incredibly popular.' Klassen added if the idea is adopted, it could provide greater opportunities for intergenerational living. 'I think it will provide real opportunities for more housing, and more people to get into the market and potentially have a better way for people to downsize,' he said. Industry support According to the motion, titled 'Opening Doors: Expanding Ownership Options for Laneway and Backyard Homes,' while the city has recently allowed stratification and subdivision for multiplex developments, the same opportunity does not currently apply to laneway homes and accessory dwelling units, 'even when these units meet the siting, massing, and design guidelines of the R1-1 policy.' Bryn Davidson, the co-owner of Lanefab Design/Build, said his clients have been requesting this option for years. 'Say you're a family,' he said. 'If you're able to separate these into two strata units, then your kid can get their own mortgage. They can sell the house if they need to when it's time to inherit the the property. It's easier to deal with. So it just makes everything a lot simpler.' 'Financial barriers' Akua Schatz, the board chair of Small Housing B.C. and owner of Smallworks Studios, agreed with Davidson, adding she wished she had this option when her family built one of the first laneway homes in North Vancouver in 2010. 'We were hoping that strata titling would come into place just to help to ease some of the legal and financial barriers that we were facing, trying to create a co-ownership model that worked,' she said. Schatz said Small Housing B.C. conducted a poll on the public's attitudes around this kind of housing, the results of which were published Thursday. 'They found that over 80 per cent of folks are really supportive of this form of housing, and they want to see more options in their communities,' she said. Affordability? Andy Yan, the director of the city program at Simon Fraser University, said if the city endorses this approach, it may not necessarily address affordability. 'I think that part of this, actually, one has to keep an eye on is really some concerns around speculation,' he said. 'Does this create the latest and newest investment vehicle in Vancouver real estate as opposed to homes for families?' The staff report is expected to come back to council in the fall or early next year.
CTV News
05-07-2025
- CTV News
‘A bit of a menace': Vancouver police frustrated with gun-shaped lighter incidents, as councillor pushes for ban
Gun-shaped torches are being more popular across Metro Vancouver – and causing problems for police. Vancouver police say they're growing increasingly frustrated by repeated calls involving gun-shaped lighters — novelty items that are being mistaken for real firearms and triggering major emergency responses. 'You can imagine something like this pointed at an officer or seen by a member of the public in a dark alley in the middle of the night,' said Sgt. Steve Addison with the Vancouver Police Department. 'We're going to think this is a gun, and we're going to treat it as if it's real.' In late June, officers surrounded a home in East Vancouver following a report of a gun. The response lasted several hours, only to end with police discovering the item in question was a gun-lookalike lighter. Addison says these kinds of calls are becoming more common. 'Anecdotally, I can tell you we're receiving multiple calls each week,' he said. 'On Canada Day, we received a report of somebody with a gun in Thornton Park down by the Main Street Skytrain Station. We treated that report as real, and it drew a significant police response.' Coun. Mike Klassen, who introduced a motion in May to ban the sale of gun-shaped lighters, says the risk to public safety is too high. 'Gun shape-lighters are, frankly, they're a bit of a menace,' Klassen said. 'They don't serve any real purpose and they create a huge amount of risk, where police come out in big numbers because they think they're real weapons. And, potentially, somebody could get hurt.' But not everyone agrees with the approach. Rod Giltaca, CEO of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, says the proposed bylaw would create confusion and raise questions about enforcement. 'If they did such a thing, what does that (bylaw) look like?' he said. 'I mean, you know, somebody that has a gun-shaped lighter, maybe that walked in from Burnaby, that gets caught with it – you know, lighting a cigarette or something – are they going to face a firearm charge or are they going to just face confiscation?' The proposed bylaw, if passed, would target sellers of these lighters and not those who possess them, at least for now. Still, Klassen says the city has a responsibility to act. 'I think that sending the signal of making sure that they are banned for sale would be a very important first step to make sure that we don't have these around,' he said. City staff are expected to present a report in the coming weeks, with council set to vote on the bylaw shortly after. It's widely expected to pass.
