The Vancouver Police Union’s unprecedented endorsement of a party that has promised to hire more police officers could give A Better City Vancouver a boost in the polls, says a political scientist who studies municipal politics.
But Stewart Prest says the move sets a dangerous precedent for the civic democratic process, and examples from the United States show that it’s not a good idea.
“Police have a huge amount of authority and power in people’s lives,” said Prest, a political scientist at Quest University.
“For democracy to function effectively, those who have that power have to be trusted by all sides of being impartial.”
Last week, for the first time in their 104-year history, the VPU voiced support for ABC Vancouver mayoral candidate Ken Sim. The union lobbies on behalf of over 1,000 officers in the city.
The VPU made their decision after reviewing a public safety questionnaire from mayoral candidates, the various campaign platforms and public safety stances taken by candidates at a VPU-sponsored debate earlier this month.
The five leading mayoral candidates in the election — current Mayor Kennedy Stewart, Ken Sim (ABC Vancouver), Fred Harding (Non-Partisan Association), Colleen Hardwick (TEAM for a Livable Vancouver) and Mark Marissen (Progress Vancouver) — were all in attendance at that debate.
“The VPU feels safety is a right — for everyone. Electing Ken Sim and an ABC majority will ensure that police and other frontline responders will have the resources they need to protect and serve Vancouverites,” said Ralph Kaisers, VPU president, in a press release.
The union outlined a lack of resources and budget needs as the main reasons they decided to back Sim. The Vancouver Police Department takes up the largest section of the city’s budget — roughly 21 per cent — with a total price tag of $367 million.
“We are extremely honoured to have the endorsement of the VPU and we intend to fully honour our commitments on public safety, mental health, wellness, social and supportive housing,” said ABC campaign manager Kareem Allam in an email response to questions from The Tyee.
“ABC worked extremely hard with health, public health, mental health and public safety experts to develop its platform, evidenced-based, data-driven decision making is at the core of our approach.”
ABC Vancouver has run ads on social media that lead with the promise to hire 100 more police officers. But in interviews, Sim has explained the idea is to expand the Car 87 program, which pairs a police officer with a nurse or psychiatrist.
“It seems like they’re really trying to bridge that left-right divide,” said Prest.
“My sense is that they’re trying to put together a basket of issues that will really speak to your moderate Vancouver, which by Canadian standards is quite progressive.”
Prest said there are plenty of cautionary tales about police getting involved in politics and being perceived as biased.
In 2020, several police unions in the United States endorsed President Donald Trump as a “law and order” candidate. Trump would go on to reject the results of the 2020 election, and his supporters — including former and current police officers — attacked the Capitol in Washington, D.C. and attempted to stop the democratic process of formalizing the victory of President Joe Biden.
During the Ottawa convoy protests in 2021, evidence that some police officers were openly supporting the protests, and the failure of the city’s police department to control the weeks-long protest that shut down the city’s downtown, led to a breakdown of trust between city residents and the police service. To restore order, the federal government eventually chose to step in, using the Emergencies Act.
Sean Orr, a city council candidate for VOTE Socialist, also believes that the VPU are setting a risky precedent for future elections.
“To put the point bluntly, I just don’t think that people with guns should be telling you who to vote for,” Orr said.
Orr, who was not invited to the VPU debate, was removed from the event after protesting. Ultimately, he believes that more money should be allocated to fund community safety measures like Indigenous-led street teams and street nurses.
He also would like to see more funding to address housing and the overdose crisis on the Downtown Eastside.
“By the police taking 21 per cent of the city budget, they’re only ever going to be policing the symptoms, we’re never going to be getting at the root causes,” Orr said.
Big money in local election
Law and order messaging has become a major focus for right-wing parties and candidates since the COVID-19 pandemic led to more visible homelessness, a rise in some types of crime and a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes. In the 2020 provincial election, then-BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson connected homelessness with rising crime, language that some critics called stigmatizing and divisive.
On Oct. 5, Orr called attention to a screening of a documentary called “Vancouver is Dying,” made by former BC Liberal leader candidate Aaron Gunn. Last year, Gunn was denied the chance to run for the BC Liberal party after they decided his views on reconciliation, diversity and acceptance would be “inconsistent” with the party.
The documentary depicts a city wracked by crime, open drug use and homelessness. It features interviews with residents who have experienced violent crime, VPU president Ralph Kaisers and retired officer Curtis Robinson, who complains in the film that police are no longer allowed to do street checks. That practice, where police stop and question someone who is not part of a criminal investigation, now has much stricter provincial guidelines after data showed Black and Indigenous people were over-represented in police street checks in B.C.
On social media, Orr drew attention to the presence of the Pacific Prosperity Network at the documentary screening. The PPN, a non-profit organization that backs business-focused political candidates, has heightened concerns that U.S.-style political action committees are coming to B.C.
The PPN is backed in part by Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, who urged business leaders in August to come together and help fund the organization.
On Oct. 6, the PPN was fined $1,000 by Elections BC for not registering as a third-party election advertiser and violating Facebook advertising laws.
Orr called on Sim to “denounce his donor and backer” for being at the event. But in a statement, Allam said the link between Wilson and ABC is tenuous.
Wilson donated $1,200 to ABC in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The party has publicly said that the Lululemon founder’s values are “not aligned” with ABC, and Allam said ABC has condemned Pacific Prosperity Network and other third parties that “promote misinformation.”
But Orr said that wasn’t good enough.
“ABC uses a lot of social justice rhetoric and rhetoric around equality, but you can’t be both,” Orr said.
“You can’t be taking money from Chip Wilson and taking endorsements from the police, but then also talking about how the police are a problem or there needs to be equity.”
NEW YORK (AP) — In a new video posted early Election Day, Beyoncé channels Pamela Anderson in the television program “Baywatch” – red one-piece swimsuit and all – and asks viewers to vote.
In the two-and-a-half-minute clip, set to most of “Bodyguard,” a four-minute cut from her 2024 country album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé cosplays as Anderson’s character before concluding with a simple message, written in white text: “Happy Beylloween,” followed by “Vote.”
At a rally for Donald Trump in Pittsburgh on Monday night, the former president spoke dismissively about Beyoncé’s appearance at a Kamala Harris rally in Houston in October, drawing boos for the megastar from his supporters.
“Beyoncé would come in. Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs. There were no songs. There was no happiness,” Trump said.
She did not perform — unlike in 2016, when she performed at a presidential campaign rally for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland – but she endorsed Harris and gave a moving speech, initially joined onstage by her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland.
“I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said.
“A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided,” she said at the rally in Houston, her hometown.
“Imagine our daughters growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations,” she continued. “We must vote, and we need you.”
Harris used the song in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. That same month, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris for president.
Beyoncé gave permission to Harris to use the song, a campaign official who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations confirmed to The Associated Press.
Outside of sports and a “Cold front coming down from Canada,” American news media only report on Canadian events that they believe are, or will be, influential to the US. Therefore, when Justin Trudeau’s announcement, having finally read the room, that Canada will be reducing the number of permanent residents admitted by more than 20 percent and temporary residents like skilled workers and college students will be cut by more than half made news south of the border, I knew the American media felt Trudeau’s about-face on immigration was newsworthy because many Americans would relate to Trudeau realizing Canada was accepting more immigrants than it could manage and are hoping their next POTUS will follow Trudeau’s playbook.
Canada, with lots of space and lacking convenient geographical ways for illegal immigrants to enter the country, though still many do, has a global reputation for being incredibly accepting of immigrants. On the surface, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver appear to be multicultural havens. However, as the saying goes, “Too much of a good thing is never good,” resulting in a sharp rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, which you can almost taste in the air. A growing number of Canadians, regardless of their political affiliation, are blaming recent immigrants for causing the housing affordability crises, inflation, rise in crime and unemployment/stagnant wages.
Throughout history, populations have engulfed themselves in a tribal frenzy, a psychological state where people identify strongly with their own group, often leading to a ‘us versus them’ mentality. This has led to quick shifts from complacency to panic and finger-pointing at groups outside their tribe, a phenomenon that is not unique to any particular culture or time period.
My take on why the American news media found Trudeau’s blatantly obvious attempt to save his political career, balancing appeasement between the pitchfork crowd, who want a halt to immigration until Canada gets its house in order, and immigrant voters, who traditionally vote Liberal, newsworthy; the American news media, as do I, believe immigration fatigue is why Kamala Harris is going to lose on November 5th.
Because they frequently get the outcome wrong, I don’t take polls seriously. According to polls in 2014, Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives and Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals were in a dead heat in Ontario, yet Wynne won with more than twice as many seats. In the 2018 Quebec election, most polls had the Coalition Avenir Québec with a 1-to-5-point lead over the governing Liberals. The result: The Coalition Avenir Québec enjoyed a landslide victory, winning 74 of 125 seats. Then there’s how the 2016 US election polls showing Donald Trump didn’t have a chance of winning against Hillary Clinton were ridiculously way off, highlighting the importance of the election day poll and, applicable in this election as it was in 2016, not to discount ‘shy Trump supporters;’ voters who support Trump but are hesitant to express their views publicly due to social or political pressure.
My distrust in polls aside, polls indicate Harris is leading by a few points. One would think that Trump’s many over-the-top shenanigans, which would be entertaining were he not the POTUS or again seeking the Oval Office, would have him far down in the polls. Trump is toe-to-toe with Harris in the polls because his approach to the economy—middle-class Americans are nostalgic for the relatively strong economic performance during Trump’s first three years in office—and immigration, which Americans are hyper-focused on right now, appeals to many Americans. In his quest to win votes, Trump is doing what anyone seeking political office needs to do: telling the people what they want to hear, strategically using populism—populism that serves your best interests is good populism—to evoke emotional responses. Harris isn’t doing herself any favours, nor moving voters, by going the “But, but… the orange man is bad!” route, while Trump cultivates support from “weird” marginal voting groups.
To Harris’s credit, things could have fallen apart when Biden abruptly stepped aside. Instead, Harris quickly clinched the nomination and had a strong first few weeks, erasing the deficit Biden had given her. The Democratic convention was a success, as was her acceptance speech. Her performance at the September 10th debate with Donald Trump was first-rate.
Harris’ Achilles heel is she’s now making promises she could have made and implemented while VP, making immigration and the economy Harris’ liabilities, especially since she’s been sitting next to Biden, watching the US turn into the circus it has become. These liabilities, basically her only liabilities, negate her stance on abortion, democracy, healthcare, a long-winning issue for Democrats, and Trump’s character. All Harris has offered voters is “feel-good vibes” over substance. In contrast, Trump offers the tangible political tornado (read: steamroll the problems Americans are facing) many Americans seek. With Trump, there’s no doubt that change, admittedly in a messy fashion, will happen. If enough Americans believe the changes he’ll implement will benefit them and their country…
The case against Harris on immigration, at a time when there’s a huge global backlash to immigration, even as the American news media are pointing out, in famously immigrant-friendly Canada, is relatively straightforward: During the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration, illegal Southern border crossings increased significantly.
The words illegal immigration, to put it mildly, irks most Americans. On the legal immigration front, according to Forbes, most billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. Google, Microsoft, and Oracle, to name three, have immigrants as CEOs. Immigrants, with tech skills and an entrepreneurial thirst, have kept America leading the world. I like to think that Americans and Canadians understand the best immigration policy is to strategically let enough of these immigrants in who’ll increase GDP and tax base and not rely on social programs. In other words, Americans and Canadians, and arguably citizens of European countries, expect their governments to be more strategic about immigration.
The days of the words on a bronze plaque mounted inside the Statue of Liberty pedestal’s lower level, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” are no longer tolerated. Americans only want immigrants who’ll benefit America.
Does Trump demagogue the immigration issue with xenophobic and racist tropes, many of which are outright lies, such as claiming Haitian immigrants in Ohio are abducting and eating pets? Absolutely. However, such unhinged talk signals to Americans who are worried about the steady influx of illegal immigrants into their country that Trump can handle immigration so that it’s beneficial to the country as opposed to being an issue of economic stress.
In many ways, if polls are to be believed, Harris is paying the price for Biden and her lax policies early in their term. Yes, stimulus spending quickly rebuilt the job market, but at the cost of higher inflation. Loosen border policies at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was increasing was a gross miscalculation, much like Trudeau’s immigration quota increase, and Biden indulging himself in running for re-election should never have happened.
If Trump wins, Democrats will proclaim that everyone is sexist, racist and misogynous, not to mention a likely White Supremacist, and for good measure, they’ll beat the “voter suppression” button. If Harris wins, Trump supporters will repeat voter fraud—since July, Elon Musk has tweeted on Twitter at least 22 times about voters being “imported” from abroad—being widespread.
Regardless of who wins tomorrow, Americans need to cool down; and give the divisive rhetoric a long overdue break. The right to an opinion belongs to everyone. Someone whose opinion differs from yours is not by default sexist, racist, a fascist or anything else; they simply disagree with you. Americans adopting the respectful mindset to agree to disagree would be the best thing they could do for the United States of America.
PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.
Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.
Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.
“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.
Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”
The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”
Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”
The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.
In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.
Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.
In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.
A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.
In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.
Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.
But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.
“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.
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