A Bus Ride That Says Everything: When Public Transit Becomes a Health Hazard in B.C.

 🚨 A Bus Ride That Says Everything: When Public Transit Becomes a Health Hazard in B.C.

By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

Yesterday I had one of the worst bus rides of my life — and it exposed exactly how broken things have become in British Columbia.

I was sitting in the back when three men got on. They looked rough. Within seconds it was clear they were high, agitated, and not fully present. Two held vape pens, and the whole time I was bracing myself, terrified they would start vaping fentanyl — because that’s happening now. There are videos online of bus drivers being forced to evacuate buses because someone started vaping toxic drugs on board.

As they talked, they spoke horribly about a woman they knew, accusing her of having lice. One had his pants half down — a sign of street-level sex work and exploitation. And when I stood up to leave, the smell hit me so hard I nearly threw up. This wasn’t normal “body odour.” It was the smell of untreated infections, unwashed clothing, and human suffering.

And this group was heading to a warming shelter.

This is what the public is encountering daily now.

This isn’t just “unpleasant.”
This is a health hazard, a safety hazard, and a sign of systemic collapse.

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🧩 This Isn’t About Blaming Individuals — This Is About a System That’s Failing Everyone

What I witnessed wasn’t three “bad people.”
It was the result of:

• Untreated mental illness
• Toxic drug dependency
• No access to consistent hygiene
• Overfilled shelters
• Poverty so deep it’s become survival mode
• A province that keeps reacting instead of preventing

The city bus shouldn’t be a rolling emergency room.
It shouldn’t be a refuge of last resort.
It shouldn’t be the only safe, warm place left for people in crisis.

But that’s what’s happening.

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🚍 Transit Riders Are Not Safe. Drivers Are Not Safe. The People in Crisis Are Not Safe.

What we have now isn’t compassion — it’s neglect disguised as “harm reduction.”

Passengers shouldn’t be exposed to:

• Possible fentanyl contamination
• Violent outbursts
• Severe untreated infections
• Extreme odour that signals real health risks
• Verbal harassment
• Physical unpredictability

And the people suffering shouldn’t be forced into crowded public spaces because there’s nowhere else to go.

Everyone is losing.

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🔧 What Needs to Change — and Who Needs to Step Up

Here’s who can fix this, and how:

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➤ 1. BC Ministry of Health & Mental Health and Addictions

You need to:

• Fund mandatory intake assessments at shelters
• Provide immediate-access detox and treatment, not years-long waitlists
• Deploy outreach medical teams to warming shelters and bus exchanges
• Ensure crises are treated as medical emergencies, not “lifestyle choices”

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➤ 2. BC Housing

You need to:

• Create dedicated shuttle services for warming shelters and supportive housing
• Require hygiene facilities (showers, laundry) before sleeping mats
• Stop pushing people in crisis onto public transit

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➤ 3. TransLink and Coast Mountain Bus Company

You need to:

• Implement smoke/vape detection alarms onboard
• Increase transit security presence during shelter hours
• Train drivers with rapid removal protocols for health hazards
• Restore safety for riders who rely on buses daily

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➤ 4. Local Governments

You need to:

• Advocate for proper treatment funding
• Create daytime hygiene centres
• Expand public washrooms and laundry access
• Stop pretending “more shelters” fixes the root issue

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➤ 5. MLAs Across All Parties

You need to:

• Stop the political silence
• Admit this is harming everyone — including the people you claim to protect
• Push for actual treatment, not endless pilot programs
• Treat transit safety as an emergency issue

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❤️ This Is Not About Hate — It’s About Survival and Dignity

We urgently need a public safety system AND a public compassion system.
Right now, we have neither.

People shouldn’t be forced to ride in conditions that make them sick.
People in crisis shouldn’t be so neglected that other passengers gag from the smell of untreated infections.

This isn’t “normal urban life.”

This is collapse.

And ignoring it will not make it disappear.

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📣 To everyone who can help: We’re asking you — pleading with you — do your job before someone gets hurt.

Because yesterday, sitting on that bus, it felt like we were already too late.

Hands Off Our Housing Rights

 

🏡 Hands Off Our Housing Rights: Tenants Fight Back Against BC’s Latest Policy Threat

🗓 October 9th, 2025 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
🏡🏡🦀🦀🚌🚌

On unceded and stolen Coast Salish lands, a coalition of tenant groups, Indigenous advocates, and legal organizations are raising their voices to demand a halt to the BC Government’s plan to strip supportive housing tenants of their rights.

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⚖️ What’s Happening?

In 2024, the province quietly removed key protections from supportive housing tenants under the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) — rights that once gave people a chance to challenge evictions and live with dignity.

Now, in 2025, the BC Government is proposing even more cuts — even talking about removing supportive housing from the RTA entirely, claiming it’s about “safety.”

But advocates know better.

“The RTA does not prevent landlords from providing housing that is safe for tenants and workers,” says Robert Patterson, lawyer at the Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC). “These changes would let some non-profit landlords evict people without notice or recourse. For tenants across BC, this would be a disaster.”

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💭 Let’s Reflect:

• Who truly benefits when tenants lose their rights?
• Why is “safety” being used as a justification to remove legal protections, instead of addressing underfunded programs or unsafe conditions?
• Why are government and non-profit agencies treating people in supportive housing as “clients” instead of tenants with rights?
• What does “support” mean if it can be taken away overnight?

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🧭 The Bigger Picture

Supportive housing was designed to give people a foundation — a chance to heal, stabilize, and rebuild their lives.
But removing legal protections creates instability, fear, and dependency — the opposite of support.

As Delilah Gregg from WAHRS, POWER, and VANDU asks:

“How does truth and reconciliation fit into a plan that reduces protections for the very people most harmed by colonization?”

We need to ask ourselves:

• Are these policy changes part of a broader shift toward privatizing social housing?
• Is BC prioritizing corporate-style control over compassion and community care?

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⚠️ The Real Root Causes

Violence and instability in supportive housing don’t come from tenants — they come from poverty, trauma, and the unregulated toxic drug market.

“Unions have addressed dangerous workplaces for decades through safety protocols,” says Pete Woodrow of Surrey Union of Drug Users (SUDU). “Why isn’t that approach good enough for supportive housing?”

So instead of removing tenant rights, why not:
✅ Fund adequate staff training and safety supports
✅ Ensure secure, affordable housing across BC — not just “temporary” beds
✅ Regulate the drug supply to reduce harm and chaos
✅ Support Indigenous-led housing models rooted in land, healing, and autonomy

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💬 Coalition Voices

This call to action is supported by:
Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS)
CRAB Park/AYX Community Group
Kilala Lelum
Our Streets
Our Homes Can’t Wait
Pivot Legal Society
Police Oversight with Evidence and Research (POWER)
Surrey Union of Drug Users (SUDU)
Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC)
Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU)
Vancouver Tenants Union (VTU)

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🌱 Reflective Questions for Readers:

• What does “home” mean to you — safety, stability, or control?
• Would you feel safe if your landlord could evict you at any time, without cause?
• What would reconciliation look like if Indigenous tenants led housing decisions?
• Can we imagine a BC where supportive housing truly supports — with security, dignity, and care?
• What can we, as community members, do to protect those most at risk?

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🕊 Call to Action

Let’s stand together.
📣 Demand that BC:

• Stop plans to remove RTA protections.
• Restore rights stripped in 2024.
• Work with tenants, not against them.
• Recognize that housing is safety — not surveillance.

🏠 Because every person deserves the right to a stable, secure home.
That’s what justice looks like. That’s what reconciliation should mean.

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🔥 Share & Speak Up:

👉 Share this post
👉 Tag your MLA
👉 Ask them: Why are you stripping rights instead of expanding them?
👉 Demand #HousingJustice

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📌 Hashtags for Reach:

#TenantRights #SupportiveHousing #BCHousing #HousingJustice #TruthAndReconciliation #RTA #PivotLegal #TRAC #VANDU #VTU #EndHomelessness #HumanRights #BCPoli #CommunityCare #StopEvictions

How Can a Billionaire Own 3 BC Malls + a Mansion… and Still Claim Not to Be a Canadian Tax Resident?

🚨 How Can a Billionaire Own 3 BC Malls + a Mansion… and Still Claim Not to Be a Canadian Tax Resident? 🤯

We can’t have foreign billionaires buying up B.C. and skipping out on taxes. 💸🏙️

Recently, Douglas Todd (Vancouver Sun) uncovered something jaw-dropping: Weihong (Ruby) Liu, a billionaire from China who owns:

🏬 Three major shopping malls in British Columbia
🏡 A luxury mansion
💼 And is trying to buy big pieces of the troubled Hudson’s Bay Company

…claims she is not a resident of Canada for tax purposes.

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🤔 How Is That Even Possible?

At first glance, it sounds impossible: How can you be a “Vancouver billionaire,” own huge properties, and not pay taxes here?

But under Canada’s Income Tax Act and CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) rules, “residency” isn’t just about owning stuff. It depends on where you live your life.

Here’s how billionaires can play the system 👇

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📝 The CRA Looks at “Residential Ties”

Primary ties include:

• 🏡 Having a home in Canada that you actually live in
• ❤️ Having a spouse/partner here
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Having dependents here

Secondary ties include:

• 💳 Canadian bank accounts & credit cards
• 🚘 Cars, personal property here
• 🏥 Health insurance, driver’s licence
• 👫 Social memberships, community involvement

👉 The CRA also checks how many days per year you stay in Canada. If you’re here for 183+ days, you can be “deemed resident” even if you say you live abroad.

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🌍 Tax Treaties + Loopholes

Canada has tax treaties with other countries. If you’re considered a resident of another nation (say, China) under those rules, Canada might accept that you’re not a Canadian resident for taxes—even if you’ve got a mansion here.

So technically, if:

• You spend fewer than 183 days in Canada,
• Your family and business are based abroad,
• Your “center of vital interests” is outside Canada,

👉 You could legally claim non-residency for tax purposes.

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⚖️ Why This Matters for B.C.

Let’s get real:

🌲 British Columbia is in the middle of a housing + affordability crisis.
💰 Local people are struggling to pay rent while billionaires park fortunes in luxury real estate.
🏬 Shopping malls and commercial properties shape whole communities — yet profits may not even stay in Canada.

When billionaires profit off B.C. land, homes, and businesses but don’t pay their fair share of taxes, that shifts the burden onto everyday people. 😡

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🚩 Big Questions We Need to Ask

• Should foreign billionaires be allowed to own huge chunks of Canadian real estate while claiming non-residency?
• Why is it so easy to park wealth in B.C. properties with limited tax accountability?
• What protections exist to stop massive tax leakage?

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💡 Final Thought

Canada’s tax system wasn’t designed for global billionaires with armies of lawyers. But unless rules change, people like Liu can legally say they’re “non-resident” while living like Vancouver elites.

B.C. deserves better. We need transparency, stronger tax residency rules, and protections for ordinary residents—NOT loopholes for billionaires. 🌍✊

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✨ What do you think? Should B.C. crack down on foreign billionaires claiming non-residency? Drop your thoughts below ⬇️

Making Housing Truly Affordable

💡 Making Housing Truly Affordable: Solutions for Build Canada Homes

In Parts 1–3, we explored Build Canada Homes, modern construction methods, who benefits from “affordable” housing, and the exclusion of social assistance recipients. Now it’s time to ask: what can actually work? 🏠

1️⃣ Income-Based Rent

One of the simplest ways to make housing affordable is to tie rent to actual income, not median or market-based standards. Examples include:

• 💰 Rent capped at a percentage of monthly income, e.g., 30% of what a person actually earns.
• 📊 Ensuring that people on social assistance can afford units without relying on additional subsidies.
• ⚖️ Adjusting rent as incomes change, so families and individuals are never paying more than they can reasonably manage.

2️⃣ Tiny Homes & Mobile Homes

Tiny homes and mobile homes are fast, affordable, and fully livable. They offer:

• ⚡ Construction in weeks, not months or years.
• 💰 Lower cost, allowing more units for the same budget.
• 🏡 Functional interiors including kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and storage.
• 🌱 Potential for community living, shared spaces, gardens, and supportive services.

3️⃣ Modular & Prefabricated Solutions

Modular and factory-built units can speed up construction while maintaining quality. Key points:

• 🏗️ Sections built off-site reduce weather delays and construction timelines.
• 💵 Potential cost savings if managed properly and passed on to tenants.
• 🔄 Can be combined with tiny home clusters for scalable, flexible solutions.

4️⃣ Supportive Oversight & Community Input

Building units isn’t enough — success requires:

• 👥 Involving local communities and people on social assistance in planning and oversight.
• 📋 Tracking whether residents can actually afford and access units.
• 🏘️ Including supportive services such as social workers, childcare, and job support when needed.

5️⃣ Policy Recommendations

• ✅ Adjust BC Housing and federal eligibility rules to include social assistance recipients.
• ✅ Ensure savings from modern construction methods are passed on to tenants.
• ✅ Prioritize rapid, low-cost solutions like tiny homes and modular villages for those most in need.
• ✅ Track outcomes, not just units built, to measure true success.

💡 By combining income-based rent, tiny homes, modular solutions, and supportive oversight, Build Canada Homes could truly make a difference — lifting Canadians who are struggling and providing housing that actually works. 💛

Stay tuned for Part 5, where we discuss constructive dialogue with Mark Carney and how Canadians can help make the program succeed.

Finally, Someone is Listening-End TFP

🎉 Hurray! Finally, Someone is Listening – Let’s Move Before Winter ❄️

For years, we’ve seen it: people arriving in British Columbia through the Temporary Foreign Worker program, full of hope, only to end up struggling with housing 🏠, food insecurity 🍲, and mental health 🧠 challenges. Shelters overflowing, food banks stretched thin, and families unsure where they’ll sleep tonight—this is the reality too many have faced for far too long.

But finally, someone is listening. Premier David Eby has spoken clearly: a labour program that fills shelters and strains our social services is simply not acceptable. The message is loud and clear—BC needs reform, and it needs it now ⚡️.

This isn’t just about policy—it’s about people 👥. People need jobs, yes, but they also need homes, stability, and support. Two years ago, I saw it firsthand at Toronto airport ✈️: workers arriving, unsure where they would live, anxious about survival. The system was failing them, and it continues to do so in areas like Surrey, where housing is scarce and the cost of living skyrockets 💸.

It’s time to act. As winter approaches ❄️, let’s move together to ensure that:

• People coming to BC have not just jobs 💼, but safe and affordable housing 🏡.
• Shelters and food banks aren’t stretched beyond capacity 🏚️.
• Mental health supports are available for those who need them 🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️.

We can’t wait any longer. 🎯 Hurray for Premier Eby for speaking out, and now it’s up to all of us to push for solutions—before the cold sets in 🌬️. Let’s make sure everyone arriving in our province has a chance to work, live, and thrive with dignity 🌟.