Year in Review: A look at some of the top stories of 2023
Posted December 15, 2023 4:04 pm.
Last Updated December 19, 2023 9:49 am.
As 2023 comes to a close, we are looking back on some of the biggest local stories from the last 12 months.
Below is CityNews Vancouver’s Year in Review; a collection of some of the major headlines from 2023.
The stories are listed in no particular order. Check back as we update this list over the next week.
Vancouver dismantles East Hastings encampment
It was a defining move for Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim.
In April, he made the call to send dozens of Vancouver Police officers alongside city workers to a section of East Hastings Street to dismantle every temporary structure.
The number of tents along that stretch had grown over the years, leading to reported increases in crime and fire risk, which, in turn, sparked the decampment process.
The city cleared out tents and structures and packed up people’s belongings.
Advocates for the unhoused, concerned residents, and people living in other areas on East Hastings were upset and perplexed by the decision.
Some argued there was no clear plan for where people would be sent, as shelter spaces remained a concern, and some claimed they were never offered shelter when their belongings were taken.
Eight months later, any tents that do pop back up are quickly dealt with by the city, and since the decampment, both the Vancouver Police Department and Vancouver Fire Rescue Services have reported a decline in calls to that portion of the Downtown Eastside.
Drug decriminalization: marking 1 year
It’s been nearly a year since B.C. announced it was launching a three-year pilot project to decriminalize the possession of a small amount of some illicit drugs.
The move was lauded by drug user advocates, although they suggested the exemption didn’t go far enough to keep people out of the way of the toxic street supply.
By the latter half of the year, the BC NDP appeared to back off slightly on its previous approach, even butting heads with Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe — who has repeatedly called on the province to expand its access to safer supply to people who don’t have a prescription from a doctor.
Meanwhile, B.C. is inching toward yet another unprecedented number of deaths from toxic drugs, with at least 2,239 lives lost this year as of November.
A B.C. political party’s rebrand
April 12 was the day the 120-year-old BC Liberal Party — the party of John Oliver, Duff Pattullo, Gordon Campbell, and Christy Clark — took on a new name.
“We’re BC United. Join us,” said leader Kevin Falcon.
The knock against the old name was that voters confused the BC Liberals with their federal counterparts. But it didn’t take long for the jokes about the new name to start, with some saying it sounded like a Premier League football club.
Judging by the polls, the rebrand has proven to be something of an own-goal. Not only did it not help the former BC Liberals gain support, but, seemingly out of nowhere, the moribund BC Conservatives began to challenge them for the right-of-centre vote — as the Conservatives finished second to the BC NDP in the June Langford-Juan de Fuca by-election.
In February, Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad crossed the floor to the Conservatives, and was acclaimed as leader six weeks later.
He used his first question in the House to blast B.C.’s sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) curriculum, earning this rebuke from the premier: “Shame on him. Choose another question.”
Then, in September, they became a caucus of two when Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman left BC United as well. Now, the BC Conservatives not only have official party status, but a year out from the next provincial election, they have some momentum too.
Surrey police transition: the latest
The Surrey police transition may have started years ago, but it was 2023 that saw major fireworks and an official stance by the province.
The B.C. government tried this year to end uncertainty over the future of policing in the city, as Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke continued to push to end the transition.
Sparks flew in April when Locke announced the city would keep the RCMP despite provincial recommendations to move ahead with the Surrey Police Service (SPS).
After the city failed to meet binding conditions necessary to keep the RCMP, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth used his powers under the Police Act to force Surrey to move ahead with the SPS, the deal sweetened with an offer of $150 million in funding to help make it happen.
But plenty of delays have hampered progress on the transition, including a legal challenge from the city to try and stop the transition.
With the year rapidly coming to a close, the public still hasn’t seen a budget from the SPS, and Surrey hasn’t presented a draft city budget for 2024.
Meanwhile, Locke is warning of double-digit tax hikes with a public campaign, labelling it the “NDP Surrey Tax.” But the province is accusing the city of dragging its feet.
While it may have been one of the big stories of 2023, the Surrey police transition is set to continue making headlines well into the new year.
The Kids Are Not Alright
It was a story that struck a chord with so many parents, educators, and others who have been working with younger children since the pandemic — CityNews 1130’s investigative series “The Kids Are Not Alright” focused on issues among students in B.C.’s youngest grades.
Teachers we spoke with described anxiety, trouble focusing, a lack of problem solving and social skills, along with a rise in disruptive behaviours and outbursts in the classroom.
“I think I’m on my 29th year of teaching and [2022 was] the first year where I stepped back in September and October and went, ‘Whoa … whoa,'” said one grade two teacher.
There were suggestions the troubles stem from young children spending formative years during COVID lockdowns and restrictions before entering the classroom.
CityNews spoke with counsellors, doctors, and others who described a perfect storm of pandemic isolation and a surge in screen time before kids reached school age.
Is there a solution? More funding? More support staff? We heard the needs are many, with decision-makers taking note of the reaction to the series and making promises.
Despite everything we heard from educators, parents, and support staff about young children struggling, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry also weighed in, insisting “children are very resilient.”
“I find that very interesting because that’s not what I’m hearing across the board,” she told CityNews.
The killing of a Sikh separatist leader
On June 18, Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed as he was leaving the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Surrey, where he held the position of president.
Was he killed because he advocated for a separate Sikh state? Members of the Lower Mainland Sikh community have no doubt. And they suspect the Indian government.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would later announce Canadian authorities were “actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of” Nijjar.
Details are scant, which frustrates B.C. Premier David Eby.
Dozens of Canadian diplomats are removed from India in the wake of Canada’s major announcement. Visa services are halted.
While India later restored e-visa services for Canadian nationals, the FBI would reveal in late November it had arrested someone who plotted to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a colleague of Nijjar’s.
The death of Const. Rick O’Brien
Ridge Meadows RCMP officer Const. Rick O’Brien was killed in the line of duty in Coquitlam on Sept. 22 while executing a search warrant.
The 51-year old died at the scene, while two other officers and the suspect were taken to the hospital.
A regimental funeral was held for O’Brien in Langley two weeks after his death. The event drew thousands of first responders from across B.C., with many remembering O’Brien as being a compassionate and hardworking man who “was young at heart.”
O’Brien leaves behind a wife and six children.
A 25-year-old Coquitlam man was charged with first-degree murder in connection with O’Brien’s death. He was also charged with two counts of attempted murder.
B.C.’s crumbling health-care system
Things are seemingly going from bad to worse when it comes to health care in this province.
The trickle-down effect of retirement, red tape in getting foreign doctors to practice here, vaccine rules, and nurses and doctors feeling burnt out, means some people — including some cancer patients — are being forced to leave the country to get help.
Health care was pushed into the spotlight after Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) was declared a crisis situation. The public and staff protested and then CityNews learned the Fraser Health Authority was financially incentivizing doctors at other hospitals to go to SMH to cover off shifts.
Then there’s hallway health care. Patients, young and old, being left on stretchers in crowded halls, hoping to be seen by a doctor.
Speaking one-on-one with CityNews, Premier David Eby said there’s more work to be done, but added, “B.C. is now, in my opinion, the best place to work as a nurse in Canada.”
But not everyone agrees.
This year, B.C. also became the first province to sign an individual health deal with the federal government, receiving $1.2 billion over the next three years, but how quickly you will see changes in hospitals and at doctors’ offices remains unclear.
The murder trial of Ibrahim Ali
It’s been over six years since a 13-year-old girl was murdered in Burnaby’s Central Park. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
The child’s body was found just hours after her mother reported her missing in July of 2017. The girl cannot be named due to a publication ban.
It would be over a year later before anyone was arrested in connection with her killing — and Ibrahim Ali’s trial was anything but swift.
It started in April but a litany of delays would drag the proceedings on.
Ultimately, the trial culminated in a guilty verdict eight months later, with a jury convicting Ali of first-degree murder.
It would bring relief to the victim’s family, friends, and community, as well as an admission from them that “true justice” will never be achieved.
Her family was thankful to all who helped get to this point but critical of the defence, who questioned the girl’s innocence throughout the trial.
The trial also brought to light questions about security in the justice system, with Ali’s lawyers saying they received a “litany of death threats,” with even allegations that someone close to the proceedings brought a loaded gun into the courtroom the day Ali was convicted.
A historic drought
The summer of 2023 marked one of the driest summers B.C. had seen in years.
Drought conditions would hit historic levels, prompting concern as wildfires swept across many areas.
In September, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma said the situation was unlike any drought the province had faced, calling it “a sleeping giant of a natural disaster.”
As a result, Metro Vancouver and other regions across the province would remain under water restrictions well into the fall.
Ma is warning if B.C. doesn’t get enough rain, the province could experience another drought well into 2024.
