After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

affordability

How B.C.'s small businesses could be champions for $15 minimum wage

If the Province wants small businesses on-side for $15 minimum wage, it should take seriously the crisis of affordability facing small businesses caused by real estate speculation

Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales down month-over-month

Canadian home sales started off the year at a torrid pace, fuelled by Vancouver and Toronto, but the Canadian Real Estate Association says sales in the country’s hottest markets are...
Trish and Martin Kostian in their crowded Vancouver studio.

Money squeezing creative class out of Vancouver

After five years of house-hunting, a Vancouver couple shares the ups and downs they went through before deciding to opt out of the city and move to Nanaimo.
living wage, advocacy, poverty, social change, Vancouver

City of Vancouver to become a 'living wage employer'

The living wage of $20.68 an hour won't apply to everyone, say advocates, but it's a 'symbolic' victory for all.
Vancouver's housing numbers describe a bubble real estate market

How to tell we're in a housing bubble

Michael Wilson says standard investment analysis clearly shows we're in a housing bubble.
'Give Us Data' is the name of the rally planned for June 25

'Show us the numbers on foreign real estate investment,' says rally organizer

Failure to track the impact of the flow of foreign capital marks this country as an international outlier, says #donthave1million trendsetter Eveline Xia.

Vancouver neighbourhoods tired of towers, maybe it's time to build down?

As Greater Vancouver prepares to accommodate another 1.2 million people by 2041 it's time we talked about all that unused density right below us.

See what Industry Minister Moore has to say about your sky-high cell phone bills

See what Industry Minister Moore has to say about your sky-high cell phone bills

Good things happen when Canadians speak out!

Canada’s leading entrepreneurs and innovators are calling on Industry Minister James Moore to fix our broken wireless market by opening our networks to independent providers.

Will taxes be the death of small businesses in Vancouver?

Vacant storefronts plague some areas of Vancouver, current tax policies play a major role argue local businesses