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Vancouver City Council rejects motion for transit snow removal priority

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Peak Web
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A snowy City of Vancouver and the surrounding mountains are pictured from afar.
PHOTO: Anthony Maw / Unsplash

By: Niveja Assalaarachchi, News Writer

On February 4, Vancouver City Council’s standing committee on city finances and services rejected a motion to prioritize snow removal at transit hotspots. The motion, which was brought forth by OneCity Vancouver councillor Lucy Maloney, was defeated 6–2. COPE Vancouver councillor Sean Orr was the lone member who voted with Maloney on the proposal.

Maloney’s motion called for the City to collaborate with the Coast Mountain Bus Company to discover areas in the region where buses have struggled during snowy events. The proposal also calls for prioritizing clearing these areas during extreme weather conditions and revising the City’s snow removal and ice treatment policy.

The Peak corresponded with councillor Maloney, who explained why she introduced the motion to Council. “Transit reliability during snowstorms is important because of the people it affects. A bus losing traction during a snow event doesn’t just affect its own passengers and the buses left behind — it can have knock-on effects that cause delays through the entire network,” she said. “This makes it even more crucial than usual that buses keep moving.” 

Transit in the region has historically struggled during extreme weather events. In 2017, a group of students travelling to UBC attempted to push their bus as snowy conditions prevented movement. In 2020, approximately 15 buses were stuck on the Granville Street Bridge as snowfall pummelled Vancouver. Though steps have been taken to address the challenges that harsh weather systems could pose to transit, the risk to transit users and the public remains at large, according to TransLink.

Members who voted against the motion cited the fact that the City already named certain roads used by transit as “first priority zones.” These are zones that have to be cleared in a timeframe of 12 hours when snow hits the region. This led councillor Sarah Kiry-Young of the ABC Vancouver party to call Maloney’s proposal “redundant.” The councillor highlighted how TransLink was already taking steps to address extreme winter conditions, such as giving 70% of their bus fleet winter tires. The Peak reached out to counsellor Kiry-Young and all other counsellors who voted against the proposal for further comment on this issue. None of them responded by the specified deadline. 

The proposal’s failure sparked backlash from the organization Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders. The organization is a non-profit advocating for transit reforms in the region; they assisted Maloney in creating the resolution. The Peak spoke with Michelle Scarr, Movement’s director of operations and strategy, to further understand the proposal and the need for transit reform. 

Scarr said she could not believe that the motion was voted down. She theorized that warmer-than-average weather conditions experienced by the region this winter could have been a factor in the Council’s rejection of bus lane priority during snow removal.

Still, she mentioned how inadequate the current measures are in case of an extreme snow event. “Right now, how the City operates is that there’s only two priority levels for snow removal on roads. Priority one includes all the arterial roads, and priority two is basically all the side streets.” Scarr said the City’s decision to only have two priority designations was ineffective. “We know that when everything is a priority, nothing ends up being the priority”

“The motion really sought to make sure those pain points were taken care of to prevent the transit network from collapsing.”

— Michelle Scarr, director of operations and strategy at Movement

With the motion’s failure, Scarr said that Movement would alternatively like to see the City implement a “snow backup plan” that would have a predetermined detour route for buses in the case of an extreme weather event. The City’s snow and ice treatment policy does not include this.

 

The BC health-care system should eliminate barriers to access

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Peak Web
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a woman helping her grandfather use his phone. The grandfather is holding the phone in his hand, while she is explaining how to navigate the phone.
PHOTO: Creativa Images / Adobe Stock

By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Writer

An apple a day might keep the doctor away, but so do barriers to accessing them. Health-care services and personal health information are increasingly going online, which makes it important that services, like booking vaccinations and doctor appointments, stay accessible over the phone or in-person. Yes, digitalization of health-care is beneficial and makes some services more accessible for many. However, the health-care system should have various methods of access so that it wouldn’t leave several groups left behind — including some of the senior population and some Indigenous Peoples (especially those who live in rural areas). 

These populations may face barriers when booking vaccination and doctor appointments, alongside other health services, due to a lack of digital literacy or access to quality internet and technology. Only a few years ago, a woman was directed to book a doctor’s appointment online instead of over the phone, which is what she used to do for her parents-in-law. This is a privacy issue because to book those appointments, she would have had to indirectly share her private records through the online portal. Already, the requirements to access the modern health-care system create a digital divide. Government programs that aim to bridge the digital divide gap are playing catch-up, causing vulnerable populations to experience further challenges in navigating the health-care system. The accessibility of the health-care system to all populations is crucial.  

Technology is expensive, and digital literacy is hard to gain at the drop of a hat. Although accessible over the phone, most health-care assumes some digital competency for access. Important vaccination appointments are mostly booked through an emailing system, ordering prescription medicine with online forms is advertised, and some clinical appointments are increasingly booked via online portals, such as LifeLabs. To navigate these systems, individuals must have stable internet access, as well as adequate knowledge on how these systems work. Although the digitalization of health-care allows for more accessibility in certain cases — such as online doctor appointments that relieve the challenge of travelling for people with disabilities and allow for easy social distancing for immunocompromised individuals — it remains a problem that vulnerable groups has a barrier to access some kinds of health-care. 

Although seniors are increasingly going online, some face issues with usability, such as the small font size on screens, and confidence in navigating technology. There are some digital skills programs partially funded by the government, such as one run by Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society and a few targeted programs implemented. However, there are still barriers to access for some marginalized individuals. To limit these issues from becoming barriers to accessing basic health-care, methods that don’t require technology should remain widely available. Having more staff to help labs and clinics with appointments bookings in-person or over the phone might help — including virtual medical support, who work remotely to support various tasks to streamline the workflow of medical settings. Moreover, creating easy-to-navigate apps and websites would lessen the level of digital literacy needed to access those services. 

It is not only older people who face challenges in this digitalization — Indigenous people may experience unique challenges. Systemic inequality against Indigenous Peoples can contribute to unreliable internet access. 62% of Indigenous rural and remote communities, most significantly in northern BC, do not have stable internet access — some areas even lack basic cell service. Although the government has promised Wi-Fi by 2027 to every remote, underserved household through their Connecting Communities program, there is not enough support to uplift Indigenous individuals to make up for this major digital divide. Indigenous Peoples regularly experience lower quality health-care as it is, due to Canada’s violent colonialism and persistent discriminatory stereotypes of Indigenous Peoples. Senior Indigenous people face a combination of these Indigenous-specific problems and senior-specific issues, causing greater difficulties in their access to health-care. 

Keeping health-care services available in-person and over-the-phone will prevent many vulnerable populations from losing access to essential services. The BC health-care system needs to serve and uplift the entire population, and that means making health-care accessible in various forms to fit the needs of everyone.

People with limited digital literacy or barriers to access basic technology deserve to be connected to the health-care they need.

Climate impacts onslaught by military funding

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Peak Web
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a photo of the art installation of the Climate Clock in New York City. The image shows the digital clock, positioned on a building, and parts of the street. The clock’s screen reads “4 years on the clock, 4 years to change course.”
PHOTO: Courtesy of @climateclock.world / Instagram

By: Maya Barillas Mohan, Staff Writer

The Climate Clock is a live tool that counts down time until the carbon budget is depleted. The carbon budget allots a specific amount of carbon emissions before global warming exceeds 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. Once the world exceeds this average temperature, impacts like extreme weather will extend to “breakdowns of major ocean circulation systems,” among plenty other  incredibly destructive and unavoidable harms to nature and, by extension, humanity. Unfortunately, governmental policies prioritize warfare over the dire environmental situation.

Human activities need to be wrangled into a net-zero figure. This would mean the amount of carbon taken out of the atmosphere balances the carbon sent in. Policies to support this need to range from the individualized level to the level of industry and government. To achieve this 1.5℃ figure, emissions must have stopped rising in 2025 and begun to decline, per the 2015 Paris Agreement. The Agreement also requires a 43% decrease in emissions by 2030. Given a current and incendiary increase of military endeavours, the Canadian government’s tendency for political violence, as exemplified by the recent pledge to National Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Defence Investment, are antagonistic to the dire need for timely climate action.  

With the current calculations, the Climate Clock will hit 0 in July 2029, right before the end of this decade. Instead of reshaping policy to strictly comply with the necessary emissions decrease, the Canada Strong 2025 Budget shifts priority from policies that support climate efforts to armed forces spending. Rebuilding, rearming, and reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces will cost around $56,622 million while pro-climate legislation is getting cut. The greener homes grant is now closed to applicants, meaning refitting homes with higher efficiency gas pumps and windows must be done out-of-pocket. This is money most households cannot spare, despite a valuable 2–3 tonnes of a yearly greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction per household. The transport sector’s emissions produce around a quarter (23% in 2023) of GHG in Canada, but transit funding has been reallocated in the federal budget to suppress efforts to transition travel from car to public transportation. The carbon cap policy is extinguished under Prime Minister Mark Carney too, swapped for a rate of up to $170/tonne by 2030. Carbon taxes are also ineffective because they are insufficient incentives to industry polluters and price individuals out of their lifestyles. 

Climate change is a multifaceted, global issue that requires a plural approach. Eliminating policies intended to reduce GHG emissions is counterproductive to the rapidly encroaching Climate Clock deadline. Canada’s inflated military enterprises seek to defend every square inch of sovereign territory through infrastructure and equipment.

Other than the absurdity of “defending” unceded land, what territory is there to defend when the Climate Clock is close to running out?

This anxiety is inescapable, as defence upgrades pump out vehicles and aircrafts. Dependence on fossil fuels is exacerbated through Canada’s extensive catalogue of fighter jets, which are famously fuel intensive. Also, the Munitions Supply program is receiving $16 million to integrate northern Ontario into the national defence supply chain — Carney recognizes an increasingly volatile global system as an opportunity to invest heavily in national security. 

I find defence spending contrary to the collaborative ethos of climate change agreements, let alone problematic for environmental reasons. The purpose of weapons and equipment is to cause destruction by design. Explosives leave chemical residue in their wake, impacting sea life and drinking water. Offroad vehicles ruin permafrost, and retired naval vessels pollute oceans.

Defence spending is advertised to be sparked from a desire for safety. I think this feeling of security can instead be found in forming alliances with other countries — using the logic of the Paris Agreement, a common goal can be achieved through collaboration. 

Funding military violence means depriving our earth and global community of a chance to heal; is Canada really stronger for it?

 

Black women musicians and the stubborn R&B label

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Peak Web
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A collage of Black women musicians. From top left to right: Lu Kala, Foushee, and Fefe Dobson. From bottom left to right: Straight Line Stitch, Rachel Chinouriri.
PHOTOS: Courtesy of @igobylu (Lu Kala), @fefedobson, @rachelchinouriri, @foushee / Instagram, and Straight Line Stitch / Facebook

By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Writer and Petra Chase, Features Editor

Black women in music tend to get boxed into one repeated spot: rhythm and blues, more commonly known as R&B. Black artists in general tend to get pigeonholed in genres like rap, hip-hop, and R&B. However, Black women experience a unique struggle in the music industry at the intersection of racism and misogyny. Black women artists are labelled R&B despite making music in different genres. Even in R&B, a genre where Black women thrive, they’re often overshadowed by men and fight harder to achieve the same recognition as white artists. Genres like pop, indie, and rock have often excluded women of colour, further limiting the perceived possibilities for Black musicians.

The trend of labelling Black women as R&B artists comes from racial stereotypes by record labels and the music industry. Despite sharing influences with other popular genres, the growing fluidity of genres, and artistic journeys that transcend genres, R&B remains a uniquely stubborn label for Black women in music. 

Alternative describes music that is outside the musical mainstream. However, “alternative R&B” is how many Black alternative artists are marketed to the music audience at large. Even when a Black artist makes music completely outside of the genre, the stereotype lingers. Toronto-based Canadian Congolese artist Lu Kala sometimes gets referred to as an R&B pop artist during press events. “There is nothing about my sound that is even remotely R&B . . . I get that label [because of] the way I look,” said Kala, according to ELLE. Check out “Hotter Now” or “Pretty Girl Era” for some of her hot girl pop anthems. Bright beats, synthed guitars, and rich pop vocals make her music fun, vibrant, and confident — everything you could ask from a pop singer-songwriter. Calling Kala’s music R&B is, by all understanding of the genre, illogical. 

The experimental artist FKA twigs spoke about how she started being labelled “alt-R&B” once listeners saw her picture and found out she was mixed race. Before that, people would comment that her music didn’t fit any genre. She told The Guardian, “If I was white and blonde and said I went to church all the time, you’d be talking about the ‘choral aspect.’” From classical influences to unrelenting electronic sounds, she says her music is closer to punk, and, “Fuck alternative R&B!”

Mariah the Scientist, Chlöe, Normani, and Rachel Chinouriri are some of the many Black women who have spoken about receiving the same R&B treatment.

“My music is not alternative RnB My music is not Neo Soul. My influences are indie, electronic/alternative and pop music. Black artists doing indie is not confusing.”

— Rachel Chinouriri, singer-songwriter

How tf do ppl listen to ‘So My Darling’ and think ‘RnB?’”

R&B’s role in the music industry

After WWII, many African Americans in the US left small towns and entered cities for better job opportunities, which led to a boom of Black entertainment centres opening up in every major settlement. Black musicians of many styles, from blues to jazz, collaborated in these centres and pioneered many musical advancements in the 1940s: combos mixing seven or eight jazz and blues musicians, trios featuring piano/organ, bass, and guitar, and vocal harmony groups that integrated a doo-wop acapella style. These elements were all key ingredients for the development of R&B. 

The term R&B originated in 1949 when a newspaper writer moved to replace the reductive term “race music” which was used from the 1920s to describe African American music. In the 1950s, record labels began releasing R&B artists onto the music market but often added elements of pop and Latin beats to R&B production, to make it more marketable to a mainstream audience. Some of the biggest names of the decades to follow helped establish the genre, and influenced artists to come: Etta James, Nina Simone, and Marvin Gaye, to name a few. The genre has continued to develop into the completely different sound that defines R&B today, and has been adopted by non-Black artists alike.

In Canada, Toronto, Montreal, and other major cities were where the evolution of several genres, including soul, funk, and reggae were nurtured. In the 1960s, many Black musicians immigrated from the US and Caribbean, bringing their sounds. Jackie Shane was one such icon of early R&B, bringing Southern blues traditions to the Yonge Street strip, where she built a lively audience. She topped the charts with her song “Any Other Way.”

R&B is loosely conflated with blues-influenced songs. However, many types of music are influenced by blues. Blues can be traced back to free African Americans living under Reconstruction and Jim Crow in the 1860s. Born out of the Mississippi Delta and spreading through the South, blues expressed singers’ feelings through characteristics like whining electric guitars, call-and-response lyrics, and melismatic vocals (those which stretch a syllable across notes). Its many styles and evolution, as musicians spread across the country and into urban settings, led to the creation of jazz, rock and roll, hip-hop, and rap.

“Black music is the backbone of all genres, the blood that runs through it”

—Rashad Shabazz, associate professor of African and African American studies at Arizona State University

“However, the way in which Black artists are racialized denies them the ability to identify outside of predetermined ‘Black’ categories. Hip-hop, rhythm & blues, rap: that’s where the music industry sees Black music.” 

As writer Sumiko Wilson wrote for ELLE, “What distinguishes a pop song from an R&B song is subjective, but R&B can most easily be defined by its soulful nature. By name, it’s literally rhythm and blues, though it’s currently in its most malleable iteration. The distinguishing factor could be any detail, from the tempo to the lyrical content to the melismatic singing [ . . . ] Since the lines are so commonly blurred between genres, it’s almost as if the only detail differentiating them here is the artist’s race.”

Black women break boundaries

There are many incredible Black women artists who have broken out of the mold that the music industry creates for Black musicians. For one, some of the greatest pop stars of all time have been Black women: Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Rihanna, and Beyonce. At the 2022 Grammys, the Best Pop Duo Award was won by SZA and Doja Cat, marking the first time Black women had won this category. 

Fefe Dobson, Canadian singer of the 2003 hit song “Everything” and 2009’s “Ghost” was pressured to become an R&B artist. Despite being reduced to an Avril Lavigne derivative, she defined her own path as a pop-punk princess and made the genre a more inclusive space for years ahead. Willow Smith and Fousheé are two artists who starkly departed from R&B debuts to release punk/metal albums, refusing to be reduced to one thing. Growing up with the stereotype that Black girls aren’t “supposed” to listen to Paramore or My Chemical Romance, Smith was inspired by her mother’s nu-metal band Wicked Wisdom, and the Black-woman fronted metalcore band Straight Line Stitch. She released her pop-punk album lately I feel EVERYTHING in 2021. Fousheé released her metal/screamo album softCORE in 2022. “It’s not acceptable for a Black woman to be angry – if we are, we’re pushed into the stereotype, when in fact we all feel angry sometimes,” she told The Guardian.

Monday Music: Immerse yourself in human expression

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Peak Web
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PHOTO: Pixabay / Pexels

By: Nejdana Houshyar, SFU Student

What does it mean to be human? Is it achieving your career goals, passing your exam, or facing death? Or does being human simply mean the ability to feel? In today’s society, conversations about artificial intelligence are constantly circulating in schools, online, and in personal circles. To take a break from this dreadful topic and also to resist the artificiality of today’s digital world, listen to music that captures human expression, emotion, and voice. The ability to feel, I believe, is humanity’s greatest skill. Here are three electronic songs that, in their lyrics, production, and melody, all highlight this ability.

“How to Pretend” by Lucy Bedroque

“How to Pretend” explores love and the emotional chaos that comes with romantic connection. Bedroque depicts a relationship with misaligned attachment styles, resulting in a cruel game of push and pull. The production on the chorus creates the song’s charm. As it swells, Bedroque’s romantic emotions burst. These feelings of love are especially evident during the final chorus, where his vocals break away from the familiar melody, culminating in one last exclamation to his lover. The song is incredibly human, with its unique production — that incorporates bells, drums, harps, and synth to create a dreamlike feeling — relatable lyrics, and emotions all coming together to create an unforgettable listening experience.

“Music” by underscores

“Music” is an upbeat, energetic song about the feelings of infatuation. The songs’ production is unparalleled, and it’s all done by underscores (April Harper Grey). Each beat, instrument, and synth is layered to captivate the listener and transport them into underscore’s head as she blends her love for music with physical and emotional expression. This song is packed with human emotion and blends its lyrics perfectly. The song is a declaration of love; each line before the drop encapsulates the feelings of yearning for someone, so when the beat finally drops, the listener feels all those intense feelings released. My favourite line from the song is, “When I’m with you, it feels like music.” 

“Amygdala” by Ecco2k and Bladee

The amygdala is responsible for the control of emotions and behaviour in the brain — it controls both negative and positive emotions in humans. In Ecco2k and Bladee’s song “Amygdala,” they grapple with existence and the dichotomies of the world. They pair bleak lyrics with an experimental electronic beat, confusing the listener’s own emotions. The beat is very repetitive, with the melody and rhythm only breaking in the third verse, where they repeat, “I want it / Iconic,” and I believe the duo did this on purpose to mirror the lyrics to the beat. What makes the switch in the third verse so significant is that it is the only part in the song where the lyrics actually match the beat. The third verse stands out in contrast to the rest of the song, which features existential lyrics set to a party beat.


Now, whether you’re dancing, crying, or having an existential crisis, I hope you know and feel that you are human through these songs.

Celebrating Freedom to Read Week with The Librarians

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Peak Web
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PHOTO: Yoona Charland / The Peak

By: Heidi Kwok, Staff Writer

Each year, libraries across Canada celebrate Freedom to Read Week, a national education campaign urging Canadians to combat the growing risk of censorship against intellectual freedom in schools and public libraries. February 22–28, 2026, marked the 42nd iteration since the campaign was first launched in 1984. 

In Metro Vancouver, Freedom to Read Week closed at the Rio Theatre with a screening of The Librarians, a 2025 documentary directed by Kim A. Snyder that explores the erosion of freedom of expression via coordinated book banning efforts in the US. The film follows conservative groups’ attempts to squash stories featuring racial and 2SLGBTQIA+ subject matters under the guise of protecting children from “obscene” topics. At the centre of the conflict were the defiant librarians pushing back against this censorship, despite the repercussions of being fired, unrelenting harassment, and threats of violence.

Snyder did an incredible job peeling back the layers behind the unprecedented surge in book challenges led by states such as Texas, Florida, and Iowa. In 2022, there were “1,269 demands to censor library books and resources.” Concerns voiced by parental groups towards illicit library materials featuring sex, nudity, and violence quickly became prominent. When books about racialized and queer communities became the prime target of removal, it was clear that this was a systemic attack. Digging deeper into the notorious Texas Rep. Matt Krause’s list of 850 targeted books shows that none of these books actually contained any “indoctrinating” nor sexually explicit materials as initially claimed by far-right groups. This sinister web of fabrications is spearheaded by white Christian nationalists like Moms for Liberty in their bid for power and profit. 

In 2024, some of the most challenged books in Canadian and American libraries were Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (1970), George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue (2020), and Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe (2019). Other books featured in the documentary included The Handmaid’s Tale and Maus. It’s unsurprising that these books were scrutinized given that the far-right groups waging this war on information are opposed to any open discussions surrounding gender identity, sexuality, racism, feminism, and totalitarianism. 

On the suppression of freedom of expression, George Orwell’s dystopian work, 1984, once succinctly commented, “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.” In short, staunching ready access to information is a tyrannical action that allows historical narratives to be completely rewritten and opposing viewpoints silenced. Orwell’s prediction is extremely pertinent in this age of fascism, which has contributed to a rise in hateful rhetoric across North America, Europe, and elsewhere.

Bigotry and oppression have no place in libraries, which must remain diverse and welcoming spaces of learning rather than battlegrounds for politicians to exert their extremist politics.

Young people must have the opportunity to access books that are relevant to their individual experiences over arbitrary criteria that aim to silence the voices of minorities. The right to read is a freedom that belongs to everyone, and The Librarians hit home this message on the big screen.

Learnings from Kyra Borland’s talk during SFU’s Multilingual Week

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Peak Web
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ILLUSTRATION: Stella Laurino / The Peak

By: Jonah Lazar, Staff Writer, and C Icart, co-Editor-in-Chief

SFU’s multilingual week took place from February 23–28, featuring a variety of workshops, presentations, and information booths primarily on SFU’s Burnaby campus. Multilingual week is celebrated annually by SFU to recognize the diversity in language and culture in our community. This year, a multitude of events were hosted, such as French writing workshops, Japanese calligraphy, and a film screening held at the Harbour Centre by SFU’s urban studies department. Additionally, students passing through the academic quadrangle will have noticed a half-dozen tables littered with a collection of leaflets, posters, pins, and booklets made by various language faculties and clubs under the collective multilingual week banner. 

The keynote presentation of this week was given by Kyra Borland, who spoke on “Indigenous language revitalization outside academia,” which I attended on February 26 at SFU’s newly constructed First People’s Gathering House on Lhuḵw’lhuḵw’áyten (Burnaby Mountain). Borland is “of mixed Irish and Métis heritage.” Here, animated discussions swirled between a few dozen guests over banana bread and coffee, with most heralding from SFU’s linguistics and Indigenous studies departments. 

Borland explained, “In my early career, I identified as a non-Indigenous linguist and it’s through my work with Métis Nation BC that I was able to unpack my own family’s Métis heritage and I’m actively doing the work to reclaim and position myself in that now.” 

Academia, government, and community are the main three domains that she sees working together to support Indigenous language revitalization and given that they all do the work differently, she feels it’s more useful to “talk about different principles about how we carry out the work across these domains is important so that there’s a common ground for how we approach the work.” As she continued her presentation, she provided an account of her experience working in Indigenous language revitalization, with an emphasis on four important principles required to succeed in this field: humility, flexibility, compassion, and planning. When it comes to humility, she stressed that, “We need to centre the voices of speakers and learners and language advocates in developing programming.”

She also detailed how these three domains interact with Indigenous language revitalization in different ways: within academia, the establishment of research methods and best practices come to the forefront. The government’s role in this field is largely a case of designating funding, while the community plays an important role in the boots on the ground, day-to-day process of using and reclaiming these endangered Indigenous languages. Lastly, Borland gave advice to hopeful future practitioners, telling the audience of the importance of making connections, attending events, and applying for opportunities that may come their day. 

Borland used storytelling to illustrate how the four principles she outlined have come up in her work. One of those stories even her own mother (who was in attendance) hadn’t heard before. Borland was early in her career and had crashed her car into a snowbank outside of a Stellat’en band council building on the banks of Fraser Lake. She confided in us that it had, in fact, taken nearly the whole band to help get her out of the snowbank. As I looked across to her mother in the audience, I saw her shaking her head in amusement at her daughter’s misfortune. 

I appreciated learning about the trials and tribulations required to make a difference in helping threatened languages continue to be passed down through generations. 

 

QUIZ: Which Peak staff member are you?

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Peak Web
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ILLUSTRATIONS: Cassandra Nguyen / The Peak

By: Maya Barillas Mohan

Are you a morning person? Or perhaps you gas yourself up in the morning for the long day ahead and fall right back to bed. Maybe somewhere in between? Based on your morning routines, we’ll tell you which Peak staff member you’re most like! 

What were you doing last night?

  1. Devising a plan to overthrow the “corrupt and tyrannical” authority of the paper. 
  2. Asleep. Soundly and responsibly. Definitely not dreaming about homework.
  3. Locked in.
  4. Glitching out.
  5. Workworkworkworkworkwork.
  6. Socializing AND doing a homework marathon. You can have it all.

 

You’re looking in your fridge before rushing out. What do you eat?

  1. Everything. Including the fridge.
  2. Leftover udon.
  3. A sitcom breakfast. Orange juice. Peanut butter. Ham.
  4. Yogurt.
  5. Iced latte! Caffeine <3 
  6. Who said rushing? I take it easy.

 

What are you wearing to school today?

  1. Camo to sneak around Maggie Bentson Centre and plan for my takeover of this whole campus. Just don’t dangle an apple in front of me —
  2. All black, all baggy. Maybe one metallic accent.
  3. Something cool and vintage. 
  4. My usual, an iconic fur jacket. 
  5. Something that’s giving LinkedIn vibes. 
  6. A raincoat zipped all the way up to the top.

 

How would you describe your commute?

  1. Quick, because I live on campus (underneath The Peak’s office). 
  2. B. Chronically early. 
  3. Harrowing, so harrowing . . . includes every chariot besides a gondola ride.
  4. I spend loads of time expressing my extreme distrust of TransLink. 
  5. Cutting it extremely close.
  6. A 30-minute free-for-all.

 

It’s 10:30 a.m. Are you at school yet?

  1. How many times do I have to tell you? I’ve BEEN here and want revenge.
  2. Perfect timing.
  3. Almost . . .
  4. I just left. Oops.
  5. Just . . . trying . . . to find parking . . .
  6. Should I be? Checks overloaded calendar.

 

Mostly A’s:

You’re most like John Pork, the self-proclaimed “REAL Editor-in-Chief” of The Peak! 

You probably take notes on a hot dog bun like the jester you are, always fixed on maximum spectacle that defies logic. You probably love taking revenge on the institutions and people that contain you, and you get everywhere on stealth mode. Embrace your porky side, you porkster!

Mostly B’s

You’re most like Michelle, one of our co-Editors-in-Chief!

You’re most likely a fantastic listener who enjoys simple, classic routines like skincare and tactically saving some of your takeout from the night before. You might have some fun strategies for reducing your screen time like using a flip phone, but can’t avoid screens forever due to your preference for online classes.

Mostly C’s

You’re most like Noeka, one of our Staff Writers!

You’re a fan of leisure in the morning and really dislike the commute to SFU because it’s just too active. Once you get there, you take notes on any random paper with any random pen, but you’ve channeled all your energy into dressing like a main character in every lecture. Even though you’re grumpy this morning, you had fun taking this quiz . . . right?

Mostly D’s

You’re most like Hannah, the News Editor!

You probably love waking up after your set alarm and listening to music in the mornings. Sleeping in is rare for you, but when it happens, that’s #bliss. You’re detail-oriented when it comes to your work and your deadlines, but probably should clean between your laptop keys. All my Hannah’s out there — don’t work too hard!

Mostly E’s 

You are most like Zainab, the Opinions Editor and incoming Editor-in-Chief. 

You probably welcome variety into your life but always come back to your favorites. You love social media and fit scrolling into your day before a busy school day, and can’t decide if you love or hate the parking situation at SFU. 

Mostly F’s

You are most like Maya, a Staff Writer. 

You probably like staying busy but get a little chaotic with it. You get your homework done early even if it means you’ve been awake for two days. You love school, but you probably should go grocery shopping when you get home.

Shark Bowl: The BC Conservative Party leadership race

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Peak Web
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ILLUSTRATIONS: Sonya Janeshewski / The Peak

By: Sheela McGummery, Legislative Correspondent

After John Rustad’s scandalous exit from leadership, the BC Conservative Party recently announced a new format for our leadership debates. Candidates will participate in a new reality TV show: Shark Bowl — BC Conservative Party Leadership Contenders. The race is shaping up to be an interesting one, with former prominent individuals of the now-defunct BC Liberal Party (AKA BC United) fighting against classic conservatives for the position. 

Shark Bowl will stream live on YouTube and bears a remarkable similarity to Shark Tank. Steve Kooner, a disgraced leadership contender who dropped out of the race after a few days, will be hosting the program alongside the tissues that hold his tears of embarrassment. Party members will vote candidates off a yacht on Vancouver Island until only one remains.   

Darrell Jones, former president of Pattison Food Group

Top campaign pledge: Free Western Family steak on the first Tuesday of the month for party members 

Heya, Sharks. You might know me as the president that created Save-On-Foods’ Darrell’s Deals, where I fought inflation head on with two-for-one lasagnas. If I’m chosen as your next leader, I promise to axe the tax (for myself) and bring Darrell’s Deals to a gas station grocery aisle near you. Remember: if you can’t afford groceries, just wait for the flyer with my face on it. 

Kerry-Lynne Findlay, former Conservative Member of Parliament  

Top campaign pledge: A provincial moratorium on smiling

(as she speaks, the Imperial March plays) Mwahahaha. Cackles. Breathes in like Darth Vader. Oops — didn’t realize my cosplay mask was still on! Does not take off said mask, continues to breathe evilly. Having served as a member of Stephen Harper’s cabinet, I acquired the skill of never blinking. That’s why Pierre Poilievre trusted me to run a part of his extremely successful campaign last election. If chosen as leader, I promise to turn property owners against the utter evilness of empathy and humanity. Wokeness? Step aside. It’s me — Kerry-Lynne Findlay. Mwahahahahhaa. Cackles. Breathes out like Darth Vader.

Caroline Elliott, former BC United president

Top campaign pledge: Banning Alvin and the Chipmunks  

Do you remember the good old days? There was absolutely no hate back then. Everyone was YOLO and rich as fuck. My huge base of supporters often ask me, “What are you doing here, Carrie! You’re a BC United gal!” BC United is dead, Aunt Becky. OK? Time to be a political chameleon and change my stripes once more. Oh . . . Kerry-Lynne calls me a Liberal? Well, maybe she should look in the mirror. Anyone who doesn’t believe in banning children from watching Alvin and the Chipmunks is too woke for our party!

Yuri Fulmer, businessman and friendly Australian 

Top campaign pledge: Increasing Australian immigration by 1,000%

 You might be wonderin’ what me, your average chill Australian, is doing here. Honestly, everyone needs to chill. I was the head honcho at Mr. Mike’s Steakhouse, where I championed fiscally responsible policies. That’s how I’ll manage the province — (Yuri Fulmer was pushed off the boat by one Kerry-Lynne Findlay. Apparently, he wasn’t right enough for ‘em!)

Peter Milobar, MLA for Kamloops Centre 

Top campaign pledge: End human rights 

If you squint close enough, I might seem like Darrell Jones. The only thing we have in common is the deal I have for our party members. If you vote for me, I promise to take your rights away, ban unions, and make children work in the mines to pay for my tax cuts for my buddy Chip Wilson. 

Iain Black, former BC Liberal Party Cabinet Minister 

Top campaign pledge: Radical neoliberalism 

Remember when our provincial government tried to sell our rivers to corporations? That was my idea! This is the kind of bold, monetarist, down-to-earth policies we need to embrace as a party. Water? Who needs that when you can take an anti-woke shot? 

Editor’s note: Bruce Banman, Harman Banghu, and Warren Hamm, the other three contenders, were not available to send us a teaser video. They are currently on a taxpayer-funded trip to Hawaiʻi.

Board game cafés kill connections

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Peak Web
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A man sweeps off the pieces of a Sorry board off of the table. His date looks on with shock.
ILLUSTRATION: Yan Ting Leung / The Peak

By: Maya Barillas Mohan, Staff Writer 

Hey, kitten. Maybe too soon for pet names, especially because I don’t know if a second date is on the cards after the way our first one went. 

I’m sorry I picked a board game café under the ruse it would be romantic. I forgot that Monopoly is a game that takes 15 hours to play and I kept going bankrupt. I promise I’m not actually broke in real life, too . . . but I see how my card declining when I tried to renew the parking space suggests that. It’s because the bank flagged it as a suspicious purchase because I don’t usually stoop as low as that kind of joint . . . showing how much I like you!!! What kind of café has hourly parking anyway??

Also, my normal disposition is not underscored with the temper of a teething two-year-old. That was just some good old-fashioned competitive spirit. And I am not a sore loser; I just have a very keen sense of justice. The board game café’s Monopoly edition was definitely missing a whole pile of money in the box we borrowed; that’s why I was so suspicious of you as the banker. 

If we picked a different board game, things would have been way better. My rant about how much I love landlords was only because I briefly owned Boardwalk and Park Place at the same time. You looked annoyed at that, but it was kind of hard to tell because that café was so crowded with other people yelling and cheering for my massive W’s. 

At least I’m not the guy that swept the whole Sorry board and pieces off the table (I only swept the pieces . . . ). There’s the risk I would have gotten bored in the middle of a puzzle and started watching videos on my phone, but I swear I was so captivated by you it would absolutely not have happened. Besides, it’s not like we even got to know each other that well. By the time we switched to Jenga, you insisted you could only pull bricks in complete silence. What do you mean by silence? Did you just not want me to talk?? If that were the case, we could have just gone to a movie. That could have spared me the second-degree burns your spilled coffee left on my lap because theatres don’t dabble in MOLTEN JAVA. 

The coffee thing literally scarred me forever. I get that board game cafés need to have minimum spends to be profitable or whatever (because people do be loitering), but you absolutely did not need that third espresso concoction after you got so jittery from the first two. I keep it simple with a matcha latte with oat milk and light ice. Why do you even drink black coffee? Who are you trying to impress? The other intellectuals in the board game café? It was all nerds. There was a five-party wait for Scrabble! That game is rigged. You can only win if you grew up with an excessive interest in literature, I swear. 

Now that I think about it, I’m not sure we fit together like puzzle pieces like I hoped. Cracking jokes that would make you laugh was even harder than playing Operation. As these game-loving losers would say in Clue: you killed my vibe with a revolver in the lounge.  

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024