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  • 1:37 pm, Oct 15, 2011
    Media Organization: 
    The Vancouver Sun
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    Rent bank gives tenants a lifeline

    Tenants facing eviction in Vancouver because they can't pay the rent will soon have a lifeline with the establishment of the city's first rent bank.

    The bank will provide interest-free loans in the $500-to -$800 range to applicants facing imminent eviction, said Vision Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang, adding that this will be an important measure to prevent homelessness.

    An undisclosed amount of seed funding is being provided by Fiore Financial Corp. president and CEO Frank Giustra, and Jang said he expects this will cover the bulk of the bank's operating costs. Details are still being finalized and it's too early to say whether the city will provide any funding, Jang added.

    There is already a rent bank operating in Surrey and Jang said data from jurisdictions throughout North America suggest the loan repayment rate is 75 per cent or better.

    "Most of the people who use the rent bank are people who are working, but have to make the choice between feeding the kids, paying the rent or paying the hydro," Jang explained.

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    Link to Article: 
    The Vancouver Sun
  • 1:28 pm, Oct 15, 2011
    Media Organization: 
    Postmedia News
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    Homelessness down 82% over last year: Report

    The number of street homeless in Vancouver has declined for the first time, Mayor Gregor Robertson said Friday.

    Link to Article: 
    Canada.com
  • 1:26 pm, Oct 15, 2011
    Media Organization: 
    CBC
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    'Rent bank' planned for Vancouver

    Vancouver could soon have the city's first ever “rent bank,” where people facing eviction would be able to apply for a small loan to help pay their rent .

    Research conducted at rent banks in Surrey, B.C., and Toronto suggests as many as 800 people a year in Vancouver could receive small loans to pay their rent and keep them off the street, said Dick Vollet, of the Streetohome Foundation, the group behind the Vancouver initiative.

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    Link to Article: 
    CBC
  • 1:31 pm, Oct 3, 2011
    Media Organization: 
    The Globe & Mail
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    Vancouver Mayor Robertson rallies Vision troops

    By FRANCES BULA AND DAVID EBNER

    Mayor blasts 'highly negative' opponents in video plea for support; NPA candidate pledges a moratorium on separated bike lanes, if elected

    Mayor Gregor Robertson sent out a video plea to party members Sunday asking for support in the November election because he says he's facing political opposition that is "highly negative, well-funded and determined to take us backward."

    Link to Article: 
    The Globe & Mail
  • 1:27 pm, Oct 3, 2011
    Media Organization: 
    Metro Vancouver
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    Mayor starts pounding the pavement for votes

    PHYLICIA TORREVILLAS

    03 October 2011 05:55

    Mayor Gregor Robertson has begun rallying the troops for the Nov. 19 civic election at his Vision Vancouver campaign office on Yukon Street.

    Mayor Gregor Robertson and the Vision Vancouver team are ready to paint the town blue and green.

    Robertson is kicking off his re-election campaign as he gets ready to go head-to-head against Coun. Suzanne Anton of the Non-Partisan Association.

    He said he wants to drum up enough volunteers to surpass the 1,500 people who helped out during his 2008 campaign. He also promised there will be no negative advertising coming from the Vision camp.

    Link to Article: 
    Metro Vancouver
  • 9:12 am, Sep 30, 2011
    Media Organization: 
    The Vancouver Sun
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    Vancouver’s economic plan focuses on trade, growth

    VANCOUVER - A new economic plan for Vancouver was unveiled Thursday, aimed at creating a climate for growth, supporting new investment and attracting and retaining talent.

    The Vancouver Economic Action Strategy: An Economic Development Plan for the City — created by the Vancouver Economic Commission, an agency of the City of Vancouver — provides 160 measures to enhance the local economy through business support programs.

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    Vancouver’s economic plan focuses on trade, growth
  • 5:51 am, Jul 10, 2011
    Media Organization: 
    Vision Vancouver
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    Council expands hugely popular Food Cart Program

    It's now been one year since the City of Vancouver launched their expanded food cart program.

    Vision Vancouver City councillor Heather Deal says 97 carts are now open for business across the city, with 15 more to be added annually over the next three years.

    "We set out to expand the kinds of food and the places you can get it around the city. You can now get Korean tacos... and macaroni and cheese... and pulled pork sandwiches... and all kinds of food around the streets of downtown Vancouver and in-fact, it's expanding into some of the neighbourhoods as well... it's an extremely popular program."

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  • 12:00 am, Jun 14, 2011
    Media Organization: 
    Vision Vancouver
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    Vancouver City Hall approves the use of legal injunctions for the first time against SRO Hotels.

    Under Vision Vancouver, Vancouver City Hall approved the use of legal injunctions for the first time against SRO Hotels in order to ensure housing quality for Vancouver’s most vulnerable citizens.

    The movement to apply harsher penalties to landlords who fail to comply with basic maintenance bylaws stems from a long record of building violations. City inspectors have had difficulty gaining access to the building in order to inspect them, but when they did they found rats and bedbugs, holes in walls, non-working emergency equipment and broken bathrooms and fixtures.

    "The list is just awful of what needs to be done," said Coun. Tim Stevenson, referring to the Wonder Rooms and Palace Hotel, which have a combined total of 71 rooms. "I don't think the judges are going to look very kindly on slum landlords who treat people who are the most vulnerable in our society this way."

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  • 12:00 am, May 15, 2011
    Media Organization: 
    Vision Vancouver
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    Vision's work has Vancouver with an 82% reduction in street homelessness: 2011 Homeless Count

    “It’s great news to see a decrease in the number of homeless people in Vancouver and it validates the City’s focus on our most challenging problem,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson of the 2011 Homeless Count report.

    “Hopefully that’s the trend that continues, we want people accessing shelters and getting off the street. That’s the first step,” said Robertson. But [the province] has a lot of buildings coming on stream with the city, so we will see people moving from shelters into housing in the next few years. Hopefully we will see the overall numbers coming down.”

    Results show the City of Vancouver experienced an 82 per cent reduction in street homeless since the last count in 2008 and a further six per cent reduction - 110 people - in overall homelessness since 2010.

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  • 12:00 am, Apr 20, 2011
    Media Organization: 
    Vision Vancouver
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    Casino expansion 'not the right direction for Vancouver' says Mayor Gregor Robertson.

    "I personally do not believe the expansion of gambling is the right direction for Vancouver,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson Tuesday night, voicing Vision Vancouver's opinion on the issue of whether a proposed casino expansion should move forward in Vancouver’s downtown core.

    “I’ve spoken a lot about the economic priorities for the future of the city. We need to build a globally competitive economy that attracts jobs and investment from around the world. At this point in time I don’t believe that the proposal in front of us is the right fit or meets the expectations of the citizens of Vancouver as an economic development initiative.”

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