Issuu

What Vancouver Is (and Isn’t) Doing for Trans Kids OUR SALT SPRING ISLAND GETAWAY GUIDE THE BEST PIE IN THE CIT Y // GUESS W HAT? W E’RE ALL FUNDING B.C.’S PRI VATE SCHOOLS // & MORE

How to Raise a Family in 600 Sq Ft

SEPTEMBER V O L U M E 4 9 // N U M B E R 8

A Murphy bed in the living room is just one of the ways Theo, age three, manages to make space for his two parents and a baby sister in a Mount Pleasant condo with seriously close quarters.

feature story PAGE 32

BLUE WINDOW CREATIVE

HOW TO R AISE A FA MILY IN 600 SQUARE FEET Can you really raise kids in a onebedroom condo? Some Vancouver parents are trying—and guess what? It’s not all bad, and it could get better.

ALSO

About a Boy

For gender-variant kids, resources are scarce—and critical. How Vancouver is leading the way for trans youth. Page 40

A Sense of Place

When did you realize what it meant to be a West Coaster? Five Vancouverites share their formative experiences. Page 54

ON THE COVER

j Small-space living done right, by Blue Window Creative

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

Rock some back-to-school cool with a plaid cap from the Gap x Pendleton collection. Page 64

DE PA RT M E N T S

City

The price we’re all paying for private school education; the future of Robson Square; how a high-earning lawyer spends her paycheque; a sunny afternoon at Vancouver’s most iconic pool. Page 13

Taste

Chowing down at Jam Cafe; eating our way through Hastings-Sunrise; the hunt for the best pie in the city; goodbye, pot pizza, hello, Crowbar; why two negronis are better than one. Page 23

Play 23

How to make the most of your next Salt Spring getaway; the “fast fashion” backlash begins; these fresh fall looks are at the top of the class. Page 59

EXTRAS

The reviews are in! We’re sharing your comments, tweets and sassy remarks right here. Page 10

#vanmagram A unique viewpoint from somewhere in the city, snapped by a new reader each month. Page 66

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

POOL: EVA AN KHERA J; JAM CAFE: E YDíS EINARSDÓT TIR

Letters, etc.

2 0 1 7 R D X E l i t e s ho wn.

RDX A D R E N A L I N E M E E T S U T I L I T Y.

T H E 2 017 A C U R A R D X Embrace the road in the 2017 Acura RDX. Engineered to perform with All-Wheel Drive with Intelligent Control Systemâ„˘ and a 279-hp, 3.5- litre V6 engine, it turns any drive into a journey.

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Editorial Director Anicka Quin Art Director Paul Roelofs Senior Editors Stacey McLachlan, Trevor Melanson Food Editor Neal McLennan Assistant Art Director Jenny Reed Assistant Editor Julia Dilworth Online Coordinator Kaitlyn Gendemann Videographer Mark Philps Contributing Editors Jessica Barrett, Amanda Ross, Eagranie Yuh Editorial Interns Dominika Lirette, Willem Thomas Art Intern Megan Patrick Editorial Email mail@vanmag.com

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VANCOUVER MAGAZINE is published 10 times a year by Yellow Pages Homes Ltd. Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisherâ€™s written permission. Not responsible for unsolicited editorial material. Privacy Policy: On occasion, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened organizations whose product or service might interest you. If you prefer that we not share your name and address (postal and/or email), you can easily remove your name from our mailing lists by reaching us at any of the listed contact points. You can review our complete Privacy Policy at Vanmag.com. Indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index by Micromedia Ltd. and also in the Canadian Periodical Index. International standard serial no. ISSN 0380-9552. Canadian publications mail product sales agreement #40068973. Printed in Canada by Transcontinental Printing G.P. (LGM Graphics), 737 Moray St., Winnipeg, MB, R3J 3S9. All reproduction requests must be made to: COPIBEC (paper reproductions) 800-7172022, or CEDROM-SNi (electronic reproductions) 800-563-5665. Distributed by Coast to Coast Ltd.

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Senior Sales Manager, Western Canada Edwin Rizarri Account Managers Deanna Bartolomeu, Judy Johnson Sales Coordinators Karina Platon, Theresa Tran Production Manager Lee Tidsbury Advertising Designer Swin Nung Chai Marketing & Events Manager Dale McCarthy Event Coordinator Laura Lilley Marketing Assistant Kaitlyn Lush Administrative Assistant Kaitlyn Gendemann Sales Email karina.platon@ypnexthome.ca Vancouver Office Suite 560, 2608 Granville St. Vancouver, B.C., V6H 3V3 604-877-7732

Client: C|Prime / Size: 4.6” X 4.9” / CMYK / Vancouver Magazine ypnexthome.ca

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2016-07-20 5:34 PM

President Jacky Hill Director, National Sales & Channel Management, Lifestyle Nadine Starr National Sales Manager, Channel Management, Lifestyle Ian Lederer National Sales Director Moe Lalani Director of Content Susan Legge

A NEW YORK ITALIAN STEAKHOUSE IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER Reflected in its carefully crafted menu, C|Prime puts a premium on locally sourced and curated ingredients. Using the finest cuts of BC-raised meats, fresh seafood, vegetables and cheeses paired with innovative, rich sauces and salts, the restaurant offers incomparable dishes that showcase both Italian and New York inspired flavours.

Located in the Century Plaza Hotel

1015 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y5 T (604) 684 3474 F (604) 682 5790

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09/06/2016 9:09:38 AM

Letters

@VA N M AG _C O M

Letters, etc.

CONDO OF THE WEEK

Tweet, message, ’gram or email us at mail@vanmag.com— we love to hear from our readers!

Re: Kits Bachelor Pad a Bachelor Can Afford

MONTH TO MONTH

Re: This Vancouver Musician Lives on $1,000 a Month, July/August 2016 As @geoffolson previously wrote in @VanCourierNews, living in a van is called homelessness. @mtnbvan

TASTE TEST Citizen taster Meighan Makarchuk got to

come judge pies at our offices with chefs Quang Dang (left) and Robert Belcham. How do we get this job?! @RestaurantsCA

A pie day is a good day. @DistrictLocal

Wait, are there people who DON’T want to be a pie judge? @JauntyPearl

*See which pie won over our judges on page 34.

Why don’t you cancel your phone plan and give up the joy of caffeine and put that $436 a month away in a savings account, and then maybe in 229 years you can put a down payment on a house in Vancouver? Oh, wait... —J

460 square feet is deceptively small, even when taken with a fish-eye lens. —Aaron Chapman $365,000 for a condo? Ridiculous! —Shelly Hill

I feel a lot better about myself after reading this. —Hagandazs

ONLINE THIS MONTH

Find these web exclusives at vanmag.com. STYLE

Q&A

FACEBOOK.COM/ VANCOUVERMAGAZINE TWITTER.COM/ VANMAG_COM PINTEREST.COM/ VANMAG

THE FIGHT AGAINST ‘FAST FASHION’

We sit down with local Dish and Duer founder Gary Lenett to talk about the perils of fast fashion and why he manufactures offshore.

HOW BUFALA BECAME THE BEST

After dubbing Kerrisdale’s Bufala the best pizzeria in Vancouver, we sit down with co-owner James Iranzad to see if he’ll reveal the secret sauce behind Bufala’s success.

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

THE DIPPED CONE RETURNS

Until recently, if you wanted a dipped cone you had exactly one choice—but thanks to the new ice cream shop Dip in Kitsilano, her majesty’s chocolatey reign is over.

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City

VANMAG .COM/CITY

LIVING ON $110K / BUILDING THE PERFECT PL A Z A / CL ASSIC KITSIL ANO

AT I S S U E

Paying God In relatively irreligious B.C., why are religious schools receiving more provincial money than ever before? ASK SOMEONE what image pops into their head when they think “private school” and the picture will probably look something like this: kids in ties, crests sewn onto their sweaters, a castle-like campus with rolling green lawns and, of course, an elite education. Reality, however, presents a less Harry Potter-esque picture. The most common type of British Columbian private school is actually a religious one, and it’s receiving more provincial funding than you might think, with the government covering 50 percent of its operational costs each year. But how do taxpaying British Columbians— the least religiously affiliated people in Canada—feel about funding such schools? In a word, according to a June poll conducted by Insights West, displeased. The survey found that 70 percent of respondents opposed funding private religious schools with public money, while B.C.ers actually had less of a problem

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

City

AT I S S U E

funding private secular schools (just 63 percent expressed opposition). Despite this, religious schools that follow the provincial curriculum not only receive more funding per student than elite private schools, they also greatly outnumber them. Religious schools make up 55 percent of all private schools in the province, according to a June report from the Fraser Institute. Put another way, at a time when public schools across the province are facing budget shortfalls, more government money than ever before is going to private, largely religious institutions. “I’m certainly hearing about it from parents as I go out to meetings,” says Vancouver School Board trustee Patti Bacchus. “Many only recently have come to realize that they’re also paying for private schools with their taxes.” Private schools received $341 million in public funding this year, up from $193 million only a decade earlier. And it’s no mystery why: private schools are growing in popularity. Between 1992 (when the data starts) and 2015, private school enrolment increased 68 percent in the province. Public schools, while still strongly the majority, saw enrolment decline three percent over that same period. As for why this is the case, critics often cite a lack of funding and a 2002 bill then-education minister Christy Clark introduced that led to larger class sizes. The ensuing tension between teachers and the province, which escalated to a strike in 2014, certainly hasn’t helped either. “My kids missed out on five weeks of school, five weeks of school in a rich country,” says Farah Shroff, vicechair of Vancouver’s District Parent Advisory Council. “That’s why some of them leave [to private schools].” But the data shows that private education’s rising popularity began long before the 2000s. It had its beginnings with former premier Bill Bennett, whose government

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

began subsidizing private schools in 1977 at 35 percent of what public schools received. In 1989, under the government of Social Credit premier (and devout Catholic) Bill Vander Zalm, that maximum was increased to 50 percent for religious schools. Elite schools, which spend far more per student than public schools (and which, according to the June report, make up only five percent of private schools in Canada), still receive 35 percent. Fast-forward to 2016, and “what we do know is that about 65 percent of [private] schools in B.C. are funded at 50 percent,” says Deani Van Pelt of the Fraser Institute. And while not all of those are religious, most are. Such schools are not necessarily overflowing with cash, however. The B.C. Muslim School in Richmond, for example, charges modest tuition with a goal of building community. “There was a sense of urgency that, in the public school system, [Muslim children] were assimilating too quickly,” former principal Abdullahi Omar told the Toronto Star. The other argument for private education is that it can save taxpayers money as students in private schools receive less funding than those in the public system. “If you can leverage nongovernment dollars and bring that into the equation, we start getting into efficiencies,” Van Pelt says. Patti Bacchus, for one, is skeptical of that view. “Those schools existed for a long time prior to getting public funding,” she says, “and I expect they would continue to. Maybe not at the same rate, but if you want that private option, it should be privately funded.” As for religious schools? “When I go into Vancouver’s public schools, I see this incredible diversity of students,” Bacchus says. “They’re solving problems together, respecting each other and learning about each other’s cultures. We could lose that if we all hive off into our different cultural or religious groups.”—Trevor Melanson

L O C A L C U LT U R E

READ Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders

Few of us will know the privilege of travelling extensively. As consolation, a trio of globetrotters compiled this almost 500-page tome of strange and magical destinations, such as a mighty tree in South Africa whose trunk houses a bar, and an oddly beautiful collection of coffins hanging from a cliffside in the Philippines. Available Sept. 20

LISTEN Teenage Fanclub Here

The veteran Scottish group, founded in 1989, have long since outgrown their name, but not their desire to move feet and hearts with the most elemental of rock and roll’s building blocks: guitars, drums, melodies galore and unashamedly earnest words about the value of love in a world gone mad. Available Sept. 9

WATCH Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

The Arts Club has its way with Tony-winning playwright Ken Ludwig’s most recent success, in which history’s greatest fictional detective (working with his everreliable sidekick, “dear Watson”) becomes an altogether sillier sleuth. The actors will be put through their paces: five of them play more than 40 characters. Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, Sept. 8 to Oct. 9 —Michael White

ITâ€™S B E A U T I F U L I N S I D E

BAKER . M

GUIRE . LEE . VERELLEN . DELL AROBBIA . SANGIACOMO . SABA . GAMM A

Indoor & Outdoor Furniture Showrooms: 1855/1880 Fir Street Armoury District Vancouver 604.736.8822 Mon - Sat 10 -5:30 pm broughaminteriors.com

MON T H-TO -MON T H

T H E M ON T H LY B I L L

INCOME AFTER TAXES

The Travelling Lawyer Name: Julia Lin Age: 31 Gross salary: $110,000 Originally from Taipei, Lin moved to Vancouver with her family in 1991. A corporate lawyer dealing in real estate and commercial transactions, Lin is the only member of her family still living in town (the rest have moved back to Asia). Outside of working hours, Lin makes the most of Vancouver’s walkable lifestyle and endless restaurant scene. And with travel a top priority, she puts a fair chunk of her income toward financing adventures, near and far.—Jessica Barrett

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$6,202

Two-bedroom condo in Fairview, split with boyfriend Matthew (“My mom owns it. I just pay the strata, property tax, insurance, etc.”) RRSP and TFSA contributions Other investments (“My mom forced me into saving money, thank god. I still don’t really understand it. I just do it.”) MSP Rogers phone plan (“It’s a good deal. I locked it in. I’m never going to let it go.”) Shaw TV and internet, split with Matthew (“We’re huge Game of Thrones fans, so I had to order HBO.”) Hydro Car insurance Parking Gas (“I don’t really drive a lot, so a tank can last me two months.”) SkyTrain trips Netflix Wine from tour of Naramata with Matthew (“We picked up two or three bottles from each place.”) Eating out (AnnaLena, Tableau, Rice ’N Spice, Indian Roti Kitchen, Maenam, Cazba, Sushi Bar Maumi, Ebisu, La Taqueria) Earnest Ice Cream Jugo Juice Golf and drinks at One Under Cookies by George for the off ice Groceries (“We’re trying to cook more. We’re trying to meal-plan.”) Carlton Cards (“I’m going to three different baby things in the next while.”) Portion of an Airbnb rental in Tokyo, part of a trip to Asia planned for the fall (“We rented a house with two other couples for four days.”) Monthly membership at Steve Nash Fitness World Cab rides Amazon (“I haven’t been reading lately.”) Haircut Pacific Centre gift card for a birthday Monthly payment to her mom (“She doesn’t work anymore, so I give her some money. She calls it her allowance.”)

Total Spent

THE REMAINDER

$234

$858 $600

$75 $55 $63

$35 $131 $20 $30 $48 $10 $374

$371

$11 $8 $80 $22 $90 $29 $355

$35 $28 $104 $75 $100 $200

$4,155

$2,047

I’ve been looking for a one-bedroom investment for the past year. But with the market the way it is, I’m not so sure that’s the best idea anymore.”

E YDÍS EINARSDÓT TIR

City

S HOW & T E L L

Best-Laid Plans By Dominika LireTTe // Photo by anDrew LaTreiLLe This spring, city council voted to permanently close off Robson Street between Hornby and Howe, transforming the centre of downtown Vancouver into a pedestrian-only plaza and making Arthur Erickson’s original vision for the square a reality. With the concept design still in the works, we spoke with former city planner Brent Toderian and Fred Kent, founder and president of Project for Public Spaces, about how Vancouver should reimagine the plaza. Kent says Vancouver could learn a lot from Perth, Australia, in particular, which redesigned its own sleepy square, the Perth Cultural Centre, in 2009: “It went from a pretty amazing empty space to the biggest destination in Western Australia.”

People Power Beautiful art and architecture don’t matter if there aren’t any people to enjoy it, and Kent says that Los Angeles’s Pershing Square—known for its colourful art fixtures—is an example of that. “It’s all of these shapes and forms, but there’s no real reason to be there other than to sort of look at them,” he says. As a result, the city is currently in the process of looking for a new design.

k Urban Reef, created by architects Kaz Bremner and Jeremiah Deutscher in 2014. 18

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The Perfect Date The Perth Cultural Centre is home to a number of attractions, including the city’s pre-eminent theatre, museum and art gallery, but the addition of restaurants and seating areas makes it a multiuse destination. In order to achieve that same status, Toderian says, Robson Square would benefit from small retailers, restaurants and more food trucks.

The Cool Kids When in doubt, make sure that a public space appeals to kids. “What attracts children attracts everyone,” Toderian says. That means elements like water, interactive art and programming are big draws. The Perth Cultural Centre, for example, has an outdoor play space with instruments, interconnected talking tubes and walking stilts where visitors can experiment and test their balance.

Street Life Never underestimate the power of people watching. “You can have an interesting use, like a gallery, along the edge of a public space, but if you can’t see into it, then that’s only of use to the people who are coming to the space to go to the gallery,” Toderian says. “What you want are transparent edges that have something interesting to look into. It’s street theatre.”

k Pedestrians relax along Robson Street from Hornby to Howe in the summer of 2014, one of many times the stretch of road has been closed to cars.

City

SNA P S HO T

Pool Party The Park Board may be working on a new 25-year aquatic centre plan, but Kitsilano Pool still rules on a sunny weekend.

By jenni baynham Photographs by evaan kheraj 1. Austin’s mom lives 10 minutes up the hill from Kits Pool, so you’ll find him and his fashion-forward hairstyle there most Saturday afternoons. “The haircut is all him,” says Austin’s mom, Carolyn Knox. “He’s had the same barber since he was little, and he dictates his own style.” 2. Sari Raber and Cory Milne are testing out their ability to swim 750 metres as they consider a joint sprint triathlon. The couple met on a ferry last year: “We met at the softserve ice cream machine because we were both trying to fill the smallest cup as high as it would go,” says Sari. “We’ve been competing (for fun) ever since.” 3. Parker decided to use his first visit to Kits Pool as the perfect opportunity to learn to swim by jumping in at the deep end, literally. “We biked all the way here from Coal Harbour,”

says Parker’s aunt, Ashlee, who has just moved to Vancouver after spending eight years as a dentist in the military. “That’s quite a long way for a little kid.” 4. “My wife doesn’t come down to the pool—she’s more of a shopping person than a swimming person,” says Don Finn, here visiting Vancouver from his hometown of Regina. “But she keeps an eye on me from the roof deck of her daughter’s apartment. I give her a little wave every now and then.”

5. “We moved to Edmonton from Ethiopia five years ago,” says mom Hanna (not pictured), “so both boys were born here in Canada.” When Ragi (age 3) wasn’t splashing about with his little brother, Wabi (age 2), he was doing push-ups by the side of the pool. 6. “Some of the other pools have rules that are a bit on the strict

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

side,” says Ali Singh (far right), who comes here from Main Street to play volleyball in the shallow end. “Plus, when we come here we go to Local afterwards for nachos and a Caesar—not the kid, obviously.” 7. After 30 years of lifeguarding, Craig has seen it all. “I witnessed a situation today where a dad caught his daughter coming off the slide. That’s the kind of thing that can turn dangerous pretty quickly.”

8. Twentysomethings Jennie and Joe set up camp on the concrete to avoid the groups of kids playing on the grassy bank on the east side.

9. If paddleball were a competitive sport, Kevin (left) and Aaron would make the official Kits Pool team. “I’ve been coming here since I was nine years old,” says Kevin. “Now, as soon as the sun’s out, one of our friend group will send a text around just saying: ‘Pool?’”

Featuring

SUMMER SMASH dry gin, cucumber, thai basil, ginger, lime and soda

#98DAYSOFSUMMER

Taste

V A N M A G .C O M /T A S T E

HEL LO, CROWBA R / T HE WHI T E NEGRONI WORK A ROUND / E AT ING H A S T INGS-SUNRISE / T HE CI T Y ’ S BE S T PIE

o Go big with Jam Cafe’s Little Charlie ($12)

THE DISH

E YDÍS EINARSDÓT TIR

Bowled Over

FOR A DISH with “little” in its name, Jam Cafe’s Little Charlie is anything but. A large white bowl layered with perfectly seasoned hash browns, crumbled biscuits, chunks of ham, sliced green onion, melted cheese and sausage gravy—all tucked under two quivering sunny-side-up eggs—it’s a “smaller” version of the legendary Charlie Bowl, a dish easily shared between three people. (Vegetarians can opt for the Little Veggie, which is less meatheavy but no less indulgent.) Jam owner Mike Deas-Dawlish has seen only three people eat the full-fledged Charlie Bowl. “He was a little guy, about 120 pounds, but he did it,” says

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Taste

THE DISH

IN + OU T

— Eagranie Yuh

Jam Cafe

556 Beatty St. 778-379-1992 jamcafes.com/vancouver

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Higher Ambitions

Crowbar corrects a Fraserhood misstep.

AS YOU STROLL through a modest doorway, the noise of Kingsway fades and a mixological phoenix named Crowbar rises. The space previously housed a thankfully short-lived, half-baked marijuana-pizzeria concept with the unfortunate name “Mega Ill.” It was a place that spawned a hundred “only in Vancouver” news stories—and very few covers. Crowbar is the anti-Mega Ill: a sweet reno has turned a punchline into a handsome 30-seat cocktail bar that takes a more serious approach to hospitality. Owned and operated by a pair of L’Abattoir alumni, Jeremy Pigeon and William Johnson, both industry veterans but first-time restaurateurs, the inviting woodwalled establishment blends modern design touches (many outlets for guests electronics) with a homey, natural West Coast feel. The Fraserhood (we’ve given up fighting the name) is an apt habitat for Crowbar’s confident approach to intricate-yet-unpretentious cocktails. Johnson takes a classic like a pisco sour and adds Fernet-Branca and wood sorrel, and then renames it “Johnny Utah” after Keanu Reeves’s FBI agent character in Point Break. In the kitchen, “the two Scotts”—Chris Scott and Scott Korzak, ex-Wildebeest and L’Abattoir, respectively— are equally mixed between focused and fun. Expect reinventions of bar snacks like beef crackling and “white boy yakitori” such as veal tongue with chimichurri. — Willem Thomas

Crowbar

646 Kingsway crowbareastvan.com

WILLEM THOMAS

Deas-Dawlish. “That and a stack of pancakes.” If Jam Cafe seems familiar, it’s because it’s an expansion of the raucously busy, samenamed cafe in Victoria. That location is owned and run by Jim and Candy Walmsley. They partnered with Deas-Dawlish to open Vancouver’s outpost this April, where Danica’s and, before that, the original Medina Cafe used to be. It’s now a space that’s airy and quirky. “We like the brick and beam, the old-school, the rustic, funky museum look. Old knick-knacks that people can look at and ask, ‘What is that and where did you get it?’,” says Deas-Dawlish. They include an outboard motor, the periodic table of breakfast and a painting that lists Toronto streetcar stops. Much of the art is created by Candy Walmsley; the knick-knacks come from auctions and vintage stores. The menu seems big but is carefully designed to provide fresh product all day: pancake batter made several times throughout service, real hollandaise made to order, and, of course, eggs (the cafe goes through nearly 4,000 each week). Jam Cafe offers lunch, but Deas-Dawlish says that 90 percent of the orders are still for breakfast items—and that suits him just fine. “I love eggs all day, bacon all day, and having that option because I’m not an early morning eater.”

INTRODUCING THE STRIKINGLY REDESIGNED 2016 LEXUS GS Every inch of the 2016 Lexus GS has been built to exceed expectation. Bolder, more aggressive lines emanate from its unique spindle grille, hinting at its powerful 3.5-Litre, 24-valve 311-HP engine. The interior is a deft balance of premium finishes like wood trim and a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel and technical comforts like a 12.3â€? LCD display. Experience the 2016 Lexus GS for yourself today.

ONE PART

COMMANDING.

NO PART

COMPROMISED.

Taste

LAST CALL

By NEAL McLENNAN

The Replacements How our local barkeeps keep up with the ever-changing world of liquor availability.

B T H E BOT T L E S

Suze

Made from the alpine gentian root, this bright, yellowhued aperitif is both bitter and floral, making it a drink with some serious personality. When (if) it does arrive here, it comes in a 1-litre bottle, which will last even a seasoned drinker a long time.

Cocchi Americano

This Italian aperitif is almost as legendary as Suze and shares the same yellow hue (although it’s a bit less electric-looking... and -tasting). Pronounced “coke-y.”

BEING A LIQUOR CONSUMER in B.C. is not that different from being a prisoner in Hogan’s Heroes—sure, there are some laughs, but entire trends happen in the outside world that completely pass us by. Take the white negroni, a new riff on an old classic cocktail that the rest of the civilized world has been enjoying for some time now. Our bartenders—as plugged in as any on the continent—could only stand with their noses pressed against the glass because of the scarcity of one of the drink’s key ingredients: the Swiss aperitif Suze (storied enough to have been painted by Picasso in 1912). The mother of their invention took two forms: firstly, bottles of Suze, demonstrably not purchased in B.C., found their way to some back bars. Secondly, some resilient types figured out a way to jury-rig a version with the ingredients that were available here, usually subbing in the alsogreat Cocchi Americano as a substitute. Then, miracle of miracle, Suze arrived on the market, and then it disappeared. Current status: coming, maybe. In response to such Heller-esque shenanigans, one can either despair our pathetic plight or embrace our ingenuity. I choose the latter: the rest of the world has only one white negroni and we—thanks to the whims of a few—have two.

T H E DR I N K BY KATIE INGRAM

Bartender, L’Abbatoir

“As we MacGyver ways to get around the occasional absence of Suze on our back bars, we need to find effective ways to balance the ultimate umami that is found in all negronis. The negroni shiro—shiro meaning ‘white’ in Japanese—takes Cocchi Americano and Bittered Sling’s orange and juniper bitters as the bitter and herbaceous component. The sake is used in place of vermouth as a lengthener to add juiciness and a touch of sweetness.”

Negroni Shiro 1 oz Botanist gin

Liquor from a Winemaker Matt Dumayne is a busy dude. When you spend your days making wines for Haywire, Coolshanagh and 40 Knots, you need a pastime to help unwind . . . so Dumayne makes hooch. The idea of a vintner making spirits is as old as vino itself. Italy’s grappa, France’s marc and Peru’s pisco all come from discarded grape skins, but Dumayne opts for a more refined shortcut for his Narrative Spirit of the Vineyard ($44.90), using the juice of the grapes for a cleaner, more floral result: think an artisanal take on Ciroc vodka.

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1 oz Cocchi Americano Bianco 1 oz Gekkeikan sake 1 dash Bittered Sling orange and juniper bitters Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass and stir for 20 rotations. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with a large grapefruit twist.

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Taste

T H E TA S T E T E S T

Pie Eyed!

Vancouver’s

BE S T

The set-up: Two of Vancouver’s most acclaimed chefs and one very keen VanMag reader are locked in a room with six of the city’s best pies placed before them. Their task? Do a blind tasting and let us know whose pie reigns supreme.

COSTCO

Rhubarb strawberry, $12.49 Thrown in as a control. Though it was cut into small pieces, our testers knew something was amiss: “The crust tastes like Crisco.” Still, they didn’t mind the 2.5-kilo low-priced behemoth.

605 Expo Blvd. costco.ca

APHRODITE’S CAFÉ AND PIE SHOP

Apple blackberry, $30 The centre had risen dramatically, making cutting it into recognizable slices almost impossible. Insides were described as “wet,” but the panel liked that the pie wasn’t overly sweet.

3598 W 4th Ave. organiccafe.ca

TARTINE BREAD AND PIES Blueberry, $20

The “BB” on the top was a nice touch, but no one was jacked up about the filling. “Tastes slightly weird” was overheard.

770 Beach Ave. tartine.ca

Photos + styling by page and paper

Disagree with our esteemed judges? Let us know your vote for pie champ on Twitter @vanmag_com.

Winner!

THE PIE HOLE

Raspberry cream crumble with lime, $24 The unanimous choice as numero uno. The pretty little pie had “a great combination of textures,” according to Dang.

401 Industrial Ave. vancouverpiehole.com

Silver

SAVARY ISLAND PIE COMPANY Cherry, $32

The pricey West Van shop was also the unanimous choice for silver, with the judges fawning over the beautiful crust and homemade taste.

Bronze

1533 Marine Dr., West Vancouver savaryislandpiecompany.com

THE PIE SHOPPE Blueberry and vanilla, $28

The judges loved the lightly sugared top and the texture—and purity—of the filling. 721 Gore Ave. thepieshoppe.ca

As rated by these expert judges Robert Belcham

is the chef and co-owner of Campagnolo and Campagnolo Roma.

Quang Dang

is the executive chef at South Granville’s West restaurant.

Meighan Makarchuk

is the web content manager at the Vancouver Aquarium—and our Twitter contest winner.

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Taste

MOV E A B L E F E A S T

A Food Lover’s Guide to Hastings-Sunrise

Parallel 49

East Village Bakery

Whether you call it the East Village or Port Town or the original Hastings-Sunrise, this slice of northeast Vancouver is one of the city’s most delicious up-and-coming ’hoods.

Black Rook Bakehouse

Campagnolo Roma

East Cafe

4 DUNDAS STREET

2 TRIUMPH STREET

7 8 9

HASTINGS STREET 5 PENDER STREET

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NANAIMO STREET

VICTORIA DRIVE

COMMERCIAL DRIVE

CL ARK DRIVE

10 12 13

11 14

by JESSICA BARRETT / photos by PAGE AND PAPER

Rise and Shine

Tamam Fine Palestinian Cuisine

Red Wagon

Tacofino Commissary

People love breakfast in these parts. The former home of Brave Bull’s steakhouse has been reimagined as 1 Yolks (1298 E Hastings St., yolks.ca), the bricks-and-mortar manifestation of the popular food truck. Its choose-your-own-adventure approach to the eggs Benny and good-sized cocktail menu make it the place to kick off your day—or kick a hangover to the curb. A few (okay, 10) blocks east, the 6 Red Wagon (2296 E Hastings St., redwagoncafe.com) helped boost the neighbourhood with diner-inspired comfort food—like pulled pork pancakes or BBQ brisket with eggs— that creates round-the-block lineups on weekend mornings. Just past Nanaimo Street, 11 Roundel Cafe (2465 E Hastings St., roundelcafe.com) has been putting its East Van spin on breakfast classics—think challah French toast and organic-grain pancakes—since 1969.

Fuel Up

Ugo and Joe’s Lucky Meats

Odd Society Spirits

Platform 7

Next, fight the full-belly fatigue with a pick-me-up. The train station decor at 9 Platform 7 (2331 E Hastings, platform7coffee .ca) may evoke Victorian England, but this is contemporary coffee. Quench your curiosity with a tasting flight of pour-over brews from Portland’s Stumptown Coffee Roasters. A few doors down at 10 East Cafe (2401 E. Hastings St., 604-559-6400), stock up on East Van jam, fruit juices from the Okanagan or the house-baked shortbread in addition to coffee in a rustic corner-store setting. Heading north, the 4 Far Out Coffee Post (2173 Dundas St., 604-8758090) is a retrophile’s dream, combining good espresso with a pinball arcade, record store and vintage clothing pop-up shop.

Afternoon Delight

Soak up all that caffeine with meringue-topped fruit tarts from the 14 Black Rook Bakehouse (2474 E Hastings St., blackrookbake.com) or dash across the street to the 5 East

Village Bakery (2166 E Hastings St., eastvillagebakery.com) for vegan and gluten-free takes on crostatas, cupcakes and breads. 12 Ugo and Joe’s Lucky Meats (2406 E Hastings St., 604-2536844) is an institution. Let the staff at this family-run Italian deli build you a sandwich from their extensive selection of salamis and house-made porchetta.

Eats Around the World

Come dinnertime, this corner of East Van offers a cornucopia of cultures to whet your appetite. Another food-truck spinoff, 8 Tacofino Commissary (2327 E Hastings St., tacofino.com), makes tacos that are both local and seasonal in its Omer Arbel-designed space, while 7 Campagnolo Roma (2297 E Hastings St., campagnolo roma.com) makes perhaps the most unheralded Napoliesque pizzas in town. Perhaps East Van’s best-kept secret, 15 Tamam Fine Palestinian Cuisine (2616 E Hastings St., tamampalestiniancuisine.com) will have you feeling like family, with servers who are happy to introduce you to an array of traditional Middle Eastern dishes like mujaddrah—rice and lentils with caramelized onions—and grilled halloumi cheese with eggplant that go far beyond falafel. Don’t be confused by the coffee shop frontage: 13 Thailicious (2404 E Hastings St., thailicious-delivery.com) has curries and pad Thais that pack a punch.

Nightcap

No jaunt through this ’hood would be complete without a stopover in the burgeoning brewery district. Grab a growler or a pint at the 3 Parallel 49 tasting room (1950 Triumph St., parallel49brewing.com), or tip back a cocktail at 2 Odd Society Spirits (1725 Powell St., oddsocietyspirits.com) in a tasting lounge where mad science meets mixology.

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How to Raise a Fa Can you really raise kids in a one-bedroom condo? Some Vancouver par

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By ALLISON CROSS

mily in 600 Sq Ft ents are trying—and guess what? It’s not all bad, and it could get better.

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hree years ago, Alison Mazurek and her husband, Trevor, were awaiting the birth of their first child. Living in a 600-square-foot, one-bedroom condo in Mount Pleasant, the pair weighed the option of moving to a bigger condo or a townhouse in order to get more space. Back then, upgrading to a two-bedroom condo was going to increase their mortgage by at least $200,000. “We started getting a bit overwhelmed by the thought of adding that much to our mortgage,” she says. Plus, the Mazureks loved their ground-floor condo with its patio and 15-foot ceilings. They loved their walkable neighbourhood and their access to parks, groceries and good coffee. Alison’s office, where she works as a project manager for a restaurant group, is a quick 15-minute walk from their place. The pair, both in their 30s, have deep roots in B.C. Alison grew up in Delta and Trevor came to Vancouver from Prince Rupert to attend UBC. Trevor works in Richmond as an occupational therapist, but the couple knew that life in the suburbs just wasn’t a fit for them. So they stayed. “If it didn’t work, we told ourselves that at least we would have tried,” Alison says. “But it did work.” Their son, Theo, now an impish three-year-old, took over the bedroom when he was six months old. A wall bed turned the living room into a place for the parents to sleep at night, while the family became meticulous about stemming the flow of things that found a permanent home in the condo. It’s a challenge Alison has come to enjoy. She chronicles the experience of living small on her blog, 600sqftandababy, explaining how they make her son’s room functional (maximize vertical wall space) and where they hang laundry to dry (in the bathtub). Alison carefully chooses furniture and decor for the apartment that fits her clean and modern aesthetic. “It’s

PREVIOUS SPREAD: BLUE WINDOW CREATIVE; TOP LEF T: ALISON MA ZUREK; LEF T AND OPPOSITE: BLUE WINDOW CREATIVE

Five Essential Tips for Surviving in 600 Sq Ft Alison Mazurek has mastered the art of maximizing limited space. Here’s how she does it. The space feels bigger with less in it. “Look at every item and ask yourself, is this useful and beautiful?” Alison says. “If not, it needs to go.”

Adaptable furniture is a lifesaver. Rather than a coffee table, consider a side table that can be moved around the house, Alison says. “Wall beds are a small space’s best friend.”

Keep clutter to a minimum. Alison’s rule? “Don’t buy something new unless you are willing to let go of something you currently own.”

Use your vertical space. Put plants on bookcases, hang art high and mount your TV. Alison also recommends investing in some decent wall shelves.

Share with friends. Young children need many things, but often for only a few months. If your kid no longer fits into a pair of shoes or has outgrown a toy, give it to a friend. —Willem Thomas

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My husband and I work full-time, so the time we get together is precious. I want to be around my kids as much as possible.”

ALTERNATIVE #1

The Suburbs Realtor Greg Dent is one of the winners in Vancouver’s hot market, but winners don’t always get everything they want. He and his wife, a nurse, had to move all the way to Langley to afford a big house to raise their two daughters in. “To us, the only real option was to get far enough away where we could afford it,” says Dent, who now commutes about 50 kilometres every day to his Vancouver-based business. The couple’s first child came four years ago, when they lived in a small one-bedroom condo in Vancouver’s West End. Once baby Grace began to crawl, they decided they’d need more room. After a few years in a Burnaby townhouse, they moved into a seven-bedroom house near 200th Street in Langley this April. Dent had heard horror stories about the commute on Highway 1, but he’s adjusting to spending up to an hour in traffic each way. It gives him time to call clients or listen to the odd audiobook. “Being closer would be better, no doubt. I could see my kids more,” he says. “But compared to other cities in the world, an hour commute is not a big thing.” And living in Langley has its benefits. “The community out here is so much better for raising a family,” Dent says. “Within about a week of being here, we met all our neighbours. Kids play on the street riding bikes. There are young families at every park we go to.” With a hammock, water table and playhouse on their new 5,500-sq-ft lot, the girls are enjoying all the wide-open space. And though they miss the convenience of the city, the Dents were happy to make the trade. “My wife and I both have the experience of growing up and running in the backyard. We wanted our kids to be able to do that, too.”—Laura Rodgers

all about editing your things,” she says. “You have to be ruthless.” But the family of three recently became a family of four. Alison had her second child, a girl, in July. And they won’t be moving this time, either. The Mazureks are but one urban family making small living work in the face of rising real estate prices. The benchmark price for a detached home in Metro Vancouver was $1.5 million in May, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, while townhouses reached $632,000. As home prices continue to soar in Vancouver, parents who want to stay in the city—but can’t afford larger homes—are squeezing their families into condos and basement suites. Babies sleep in closets and parents bunk down in living rooms. Families who make the choice to stick around say they do it for the walkability, urban experience and shorter commutes. Now the challenge is making small living a more viable way of life for more people. The feedback Alison receives on her blog is mostly positive, although some readers react with disbelief that the family is actually happy in such tight quarters. “My husband and I work full-time, so the precious time we all get together—we’re grateful for that. I want to be around my kids as much as possible,” she says. She also hears from parents in Europe who live in small spaces, although those readers point out that small living is already the norm in their locales. The family copes with cabin fever by visiting the library or community centre, or grabbing coffee at one of Main Street’s many cafés. A smaller mortgage, meanwhile, means more money for extras like travel and high-end appliances. In addition to

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their car, they own a 1982 Volkswagen Westfalia they take camping in Tofino. Because Alison sleeps one foot from the dishwasher—and has two nap schedules to contend with—she replaced their functional but noisy appliance with a Bosch model that’s nearly silent. “We check in with one another every couple of months and ask, are we still happy?” she says. “You need to listen to your kids. If [Theo is] six or seven and he starts complaining about not having personal space, then we would reevaluate.” Alison admits they haven’t made a plan for what the family will do when the kids are teenagers and don’t want to be near Mom and Dad all the time. “We’re not thinking that far ahead. Right now we’re thinking about elementary school.” She doesn’t dwell on rising real estate prices, either, as she feels those are out of their control. “But we need to get creative about how we live in the city. We need more shared spaces,” she says, adding that families could also share big, rarely used items like lawn mowers or vacuums. She does express concern that their peers will move away if something doesn’t change soon. “I don’t want young and creative people just leaving the city.” Without an influx of creative and affordable housing, families squeezed into small spaces could get fed up, says Penny Gurstein, director of the School of Community and Regional Planning and the Centre for Human Settlements at UBC. She says many families have already fled and that part of the problem is that Vancouver lacks a variety of housing types. “If you want to have a complete community, you need to have a full spectrum of people from all incomes.”

SPEAKER

POWER

EVENT

SERIES

The Brian Jessel M Power Series features a new format in 2016: an indepth, one-on-one conversation with the inﬂuencers that shape our city.

ONE–ON–ONE WITH MICHAEL GREEN

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 Valuing Design

Known for his Ted Talks and paradigm-shifting wooden skyscrapers, Governor General’s Award-winning architect Michael Green joins Vancouver Magazine editorial director Anicka Quin to discuss the value of good design in our lives, and its connection to a truly sustainable future. Michael Green founded his architecture ﬁrm MGA and his not-for-proﬁt school DBR | Design Build Research to focus on progressive architecture, research, education and innovation. His 2013 TED talk, “Why We Should Build Wooden Skyscrapers?” has been viewed over a million times.

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September 13, 2016 November 15, 2016

TIME:

LOCATION:

6 P.M. to 8 P.M.

Brian Jessel BMW 2311 Boundary Rd., Vancouver

Thank you to our event partners.

We need to get creative about how we live in the city. We need shared spaces. I don’t want young people just leaving.”

ALTERNATIVE #2

Co-ops Catherine Bargen gave birth in her bedroom in the 36-unit housing co-operative she’s shared with her husband, Richard Siegenthaler, since 2013. The neighbours weren’t disturbed by the noise of labour, though, because they were already aware of the mom-to-be’s plan to give birth. In fact, residents of the Charles Square Housing Co-operative had already made meals, knitted blankets and had books ready for the newest addition to the Bargen-Siegenthaler household. That same neighbourhood support system has been instrumental in the first two years of their daughter’s life. After a few months of Roxanne not adjusting at daycare and many spreadsheets full of failed attempts to secure a nanny, Bargen and Siegenthaler made the decision to use co-op living to help with child care. The desirability of Charles Square is evident as soon as you enter its sunny courtyard, which is filled with children’s toys. Then there are the security benefits that come with being a part-owner of your space. “We have so many friends right now who are going through the Vancouver ‘renoviction,’” Bargen says. The catch? Co-ops are notoriously difficult to get into, with multiyear waiting lists being the norm. Casual child care also requires delicately exploring relationships to avoid offending well-meaning neighbours. Sometimes money is exchanged, other times babysitting or a bottle of wine. Siegenthaler, who’s scaled back his workload, now has neighbours helping him watch Roxanne. Bargen says they’ve achieved a balance—and a lifestyle—at a cost they are happy with. “I was so thrilled the first time a little eight-yearold girl knocked on the door and asked if Roxanne could come out and play,” she says. —Jenni Baynham

But much of the available housing in Vancouver isn’t suitable for families, Gurstein says. “I think people are making do with living in 600-square-foot spaces, but as children age, they want privacy. There’s a lot more activity,” she says. And while Gurstein understands that families are busy raising children and working to pay their mortgage or rent, she feels they need to be voicing their anger about housing more. “I think there needs to be a lot more pressure by citizens on all levels of government to address the housing issue,” she says. “It needs to be organized anger. You need to actually mobilize and try to address this as a political issue.” James Chamberlain may have one solution. He hopes that Our Urban Village, a project based on the co-housing model, could be a creative answer to Vancouver’s housing woes. Co-housing is based on an intentional community of homes, attached or unattached, built around shared amenities. Units are individually owned, but residents willingly congregate in common areas like playrooms, gardens and a dining area. Chamberlain, a vice-principal at an inner-city school, is part of a group of 11 households hoping to buy a block of condos together. The families, who all know each other, will purchase their individual units at market rates and share flexible common spaces for cooking meals together, playing and putting up out-of-town guests. The point? To create community in an urban setting, share experiences and resources, and avoid paying for space they don’t use. “The families in our group have kids under the age of three,” he says. “They all live close to the downtown core, and they all want to stay in the city. They don’t

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want to spend their lives in cars. They want to spend quality time with their kids, and they want to do it in a sustainable way.” Chamberlain says they call OUV “co-housing lite” because the traditional approach would mean starting from scratch: finding three adjacent lots; purchasing land; navigating zoning laws; hiring an architect, developer and lawyer; and finally building the structures. “The typical approach to co-housing can be quite time-consuming and daunting in terms of risk for families,” he says. Instead, OUV is hunting for a “developer with a conscience” who has a project already in the planning phase. Ideally, they’d like to create their community on two or three floors in a condo tower or in an entire low-rise building in the city. The parents in the group who are feeling cramped in their units will benefit from a communal flex space that can be turned into a playroom for energetic kids, Chamberlain says. Visiting grandparents from out of town could stay in a shared guest suite. He points out that a multi-generational co-housing community gives owners the opportunity to swap child care, one of the most expensive parts of raising children other than rent or a mortgage. Retirees could watch children after school, before their parents return home from work. OUV’s conversations with developers have been promising and Chamberlain is optimistic the project will succeed. “Some developers are attracted to it because of the social aspect,” he says. “We have no issue with the developer branding it and making it their own. And developers are looking for niche markets, right?”

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For kids who identify with a gender they werenâ€™t born with, resources are scarceâ€”and critical. How Vancouver is leading the way for trans youth. By danielle egan

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

Photographs by carlo ricci

About a Boy Mason and his mom sit in a waiting room at BC Children’s Hospital. The 12-year-old with rosy cheeks and bright brown eyes—dressed in a baggy T-shirt, droopy soccer shorts and Converse All Star high tops— looks like the picture of health. But looks can be deceiving. Mason and his mom, Lisa, are about to consult with a specialist about a medical intervention that could save his life. Lisa starts to cry the moment she starts chronicling their uphill journey since her firstborn child started preschool, or perhaps since the moment he was born and the doctor exclaimed,

“It’s a girl.” VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

ason does not identify as a girl. He says he feels like a boy “stuck in a girl’s body.” Six months ago, that peripubescent body started its biological march into womanhood, when Mason got his period. After many years of silent suffering, it was the catalyst for him to come out of the closet, starting with a desperate cry for help to his younger sister, asking, “Do you think Mom and Dad would prefer a son or a dead daughter?” If you think that sounds like typical overwrought tween drama, consider these staggering statistics. Suicide attempt rates among transgender youth are as high as 45 percent, according to a 2014 U.S. national survey. An Ontario study from 2010 found that 47 percent of transgender youth had seriously considered suicide in the past year (compared to 11 percent of non-trans Ontario youth in a separate study). Of 923 transgender Canadian youth who participated in a 2015 survey, one in three attempted suicide in the past year and 70 percent suffered sexual harassment. Almost half of these Canadian youth

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

felt “quite” or “extremely hopeless and overwhelmed,” and 71 percent hadn’t accessed support services because they didn’t want their parents to know. Conversely, those with supportive parents were four times more likely to be mentally healthy, which ranks as a key factor in the overall health of transgender youth, according to the survey. When Mason came out to his parents at age 11, there was no question they would support his needs. But they had no clue how to do that and soon discovered that even gender specialists have contradictory theories and protocols when it comes to childhood gender variance. Mason’s family was lucky to find a groundbreaking local program for transgender children and their families, which helped plot a path forward. Indeed, Vancouver is a better city than most in providing resources for trans youth—but it’s not without work to be done. For Mason, his path included a hormone-readiness assessment, which gave him the rubber stamp for today’s visit with endocrinologist Dr. Dan Metzger at the BCCH. Mason is here to receive a drug treatment that will stall

At Masonâ€™s photo shoot, he decided he wanted his face to appear in this story.

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

When people are stigmatized by a transphobic society and treated like freaks or not allowed to be who they are, naturally they will suffer.” — dr . wa l l ac e wong his puberty by temporarily stopping production of estrogen and progestins. For trans girls, it’s used to block testosterone. Blockers have been used in young children with precocious puberty since the early ’90s. It might temporarily decrease Mason’s bone density, but it will curb his psychological stress and help the family buy time until he’s 15 or 16, at which point they will contemplate partially irreversible cross-hormone drugs and, after age 18, perhaps also irreversible breast and genital surgeries. Yet prepubescent transition is still considered a highly contentious subject. It’s so controversial that there are few resources available to trans kids and their loved ones in North America. This is true even in Vancouver, a transgender pioneer since 1984, when Vancouver General Hospital’s transgender clinic helped pave the way for medical protocols that have since informed the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s “Standards of Care” guidelines, considered the global bible for trans health care. Vancouver is a transgender-progressive city on many other fronts. We have had a handful of youth and adult support groups and a range of services through the Provincial Health Services Authority since 2003. In 2014, the Vancouver School Board formalized a transgender-inclusive policy, and the Vancouver Park Board is working on a similar plan. Yet there are still no government-sponsored programs in Vancouver for gender-variant children and their families. The Provincial Health Services Authority says it’s in the early stages of starting one. There is also currently a six-month backlog for the hormone-readiness assessments required to receive BCCH medical interventions. Among the handful of private therapists in Vancouver specializing in transgender youth, meanwhile, wait-lists are up to six months. That wait could be a death sentence for some transgender children. We know that since the BCCH’s program began in 1998, 12 percent of their 84 patients had attempted suicide prior to their first consultation—after consultation, it dropped to five percent. Mason is lucky to live in Surrey, where approximately 35 kids aged three to 12 currently receive support through the Ministry’s Child and Youth Gender Program, which offers an innovative group session called Learning About Me and Myself. Operating on a shoestring budget since

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2014, it’s headed by Dr. Wallace Wong, one of only six B.C. mental health specialists with expertise in providing transgender children and youth the clinical assessments necessary for kids like Mason to receive puberty blockers. “Very few specialists want to work with this population or even talk about them,” Wong says of trans children. That’s because many specialists recommend a waitand-see approach, based on dubious historical research, which presupposes that many gender-variant kids will ultimately identify as gay. Some specialists even believe that gender is pliable in young kids, and they endorse conversion therapy of the type once done on gay people. Wong’s methods are controversial and revolutionary because he takes an altogether different approach. “I provide affirmative therapy, which isn’t about encouraging or discouraging children to pick a gender. It’s to help build confidence and resilience, find a place on the gender spectrum and eventually develop a plan to live in the gender they fit.” He says that while some gendervariant children experience no psychological distress, even when they go through puberty, many of the kids he sees “have serious behavioural and developmental issues because they’re under such emotional distress. They’re anxious, ashamed, depressed, suicidal”—particularly if they’re not allowed to express gender variance and have little to no parental and community support. Wong’s Learning About Me and Myself group sessions give kids a safe, nurturing environment to explore gender identity. “The focus is on creative play,” he says, “activities that help kids discover and realize the authentic self without stress or shame”—including everything from making snowflakes (to explore the notion that all of us are unique) to playing Mr. Potato Head (to experiment with gender identification). “Another goal is to facilitate friendships among kids that share gender variance so that they realize, ‘I’m not alone, I’m not a weirdo,’” Wong says. “You should have seen the joy on Mason’s face when he met a boy just like him at Dr. Wong’s group session,” Lisa says. “Suddenly, he realizes it’s OK to be who he is.” Wong also counselled Mason and his family privately to rule out family dysfunction or mental health issues. “He had so many questions,” Mason says. “Like, ‘What kind of person do you want to be? How do you feel about your body?’

I said, ‘I want a beard. I want a deep voice. I want all the boy things. I want to be happy.’” Mason’s unhappiness started at preschool. He wanted to play with the boys, and he felt “weird” and “sad” that he couldn’t do so. He became so withdrawn that his kindergarten teacher thought he was a selective mute. As his grades got worse, his parents suspected he had a learning disability and spent more than $10,000 on extracurricular tutoring. By Grade 5 he was saying things like “I’m so stupid” and “I want to die.” “I looked in the mirror and I didn’t like what I saw,” Mason recalls. “I hated the long hair, the dresses, the [Catholic] school uniform.” Mason’s parents didn’t force him to look and act like a girl. His sister is a tomboy who prefers trucks to dolls, and he understood that it’s perfectly acceptable to be gay or lesbian. But he’d never even heard the word transgender until 2014. His mom happened to be watching a video on YouTube. “I was so happy to know there were other people where the outside doesn’t match the way you feel inside,” he says. “I knew I wasn’t weird.” Mason’s school grades immediately improved, but he didn’t come out to his parents because he “didn’t want to disappoint them,” he says. “I like to keep people happy. But then all the girly things started to happen. In December I got my period and it was really, really bad.” In January, he came out to his parents. “It felt like a thousand pounds went off my shoulders.” Three days later, Mason got nine inches of hair cut and they went shopping for new clothes. “In the mall, I used the boys’ washroom for the first time and I got no funny looks,” he says. “It felt so good.” Lisa’s tears start to spill again. This is an exciting day for Mason, but for his parents it’s the culmination of a sixmonth crash course with a steep learning curve. Wong’s parents’ support group has provided a safe harbour for them to share their highs and lows and plot the road ahead. “We do a lot of crying at the group—‘Why me? Why us?’” Lisa admits. “A lot of us feel like we’re mourning. I’m mourning the daughter that I thought I had. But I’m also very happy now with the son I didn’t know I had. We know his safety and happiness are at stake. So when I hear that we shouldn’t let kids transition early, I think that’s a bunch of baloney. These kids know who they are. Why can’t we let them be themselves?” Lisa is alluding to the conventional theories that

gender may not be fixed in children and that many gendervariant kids will outgrow it and identify as homosexual, based on historical research done in the ’70s and ’80s, when transgender was considered a mental disorder. The brave few who did come out faced discrimination and abuse, which led to high drug addiction, joblessness, prostitution, homelessness, violence, murder and suicide—and a scarcity of safe medical interventions. Improved resources, research and our growing cultural acceptance have brought higher rates of healthy transition, often galvanized by loud and proud transgender kids like Tru Wilson, who came out to her parents in 2012 at aged nine (and was featured on the cover of Van Mag in December). The Wilsons sought counselling and attended Wong’s children’s program, and Tru started taking puberty blockers. Later that year, the family lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal against Tru’s Catholic school, Sacred Heart Elementary, when the school refused to accommodate her transition. Ultimately, the Catholic Independent Schools of Vancouver Archdiocese agreed to pay the Wilsons an undisclosed settlement and initiated a new genderinclusive policy in 2014, the same year the Vancouver School Board formalized one of its own. Despite scientific evidence that transgender people have genetic and biological characteristics matching their transgender identity, families are still often cautioned against early transition. And conversion therapy, which strongly discourages transgender expression and behaviours, is still endorsed by some experts, including Toronto-based Dr. Ken Zucker, former chief of the Gender Identity Service at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada’s biggest transgender clinic. Conversion therapy caused a public uproar in North America after its use led to the suicide of an Ohio teen, who left a note begging, “Fix society. Please.” Ontario ultimately banned conversion therapy and Zucker’s clinic was closed late last year. “Sadly, Zucker’s theories on conversion therapy changed the way many psychologists have practised, and it could have done a lot of damage to kids with gender dysphoria,” says Wong, who explains that some parents come to him as a “last resort,” wanting him to “punish or fix” their child. Some have already tried conversion therapy. “They find that it actually makes their child’s core [transgender] identity stronger,” he

Some of them talk about running away because their parents won’t accept who they are. I’m lucky because my parents want me to be happy.” — m a s on

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

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says. To Wong, the historical theory that a majority of transgender kids are merely confused about sexuality is plagued by bias against both gay and trans people and lacks a strong evidence base. Modern gender identity specialists understand the critical distinction between gender and sexuality—the oft-used idiom is that gender is who you go to bed as, while sexuality is whom you go to bed with. “More than 90 percent of the kids I see with

gender dysphoria stay on the transgender spectrum,” he says. “Transgender isn’t a pathology or a mental disorder needing a cure. Many trans people have gender dysphoria, and some have mental health issues, but when people are stigmatized by a transphobic society and treated like freaks or not allowed to be who they are, naturally they will suffer.” As of April 2016, the BCCH clinic had seen more than 250 youths. “Typically I meet them at puberty, when transgender kids often start to fall apart. There’s a lot of stress around those unwanted physical changes,” says Dan Metzger, the BCCH endocrinologist who provides pre-approved youth hormone therapies. “We need more services for the growing number of transgender kids,” he adds. “Often safety is a big issue for early transition, especially in smaller, less tolerant communities. But in B.C. that’s less of an issue as long as parents are supportive.” B.C.’s progressive approach appears to be bearing fruit. According to the 2015 Canadian survey of almost 1,000 trans youth, including more than 200 in B.C., those in this province are the most likely to be living in their felt gender. Over 50 percent are full-timers (compared to 31 percent in Atlantic provinces), and they’re more likely to report good or excellent health. Generally, kids are twice as likely to report good mental health if they have a supportive school environment, with B.C. youth reporting the second highest rates of that, after Quebec. After a three-hour consultation with Metzger, Mason gets his first puberty-blocking shot, which he’ll take monthly until he’s 15 or 16, when he can consider switching to cross-hormones. They’ll discuss the potential risks, including cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. Mason will also have to consider whether he should freeze his eggs in case he wants to have children. But today, he’s still a kid and those decisions can wait. A few weeks later, at Wong’s end-of-year social, Mason is towering over a gaggle of little girls in frilly dresses and boys wearing ties or fedoras. Compared to the majority of us, wearing our more gender-neutral clothing, they look like throwbacks to a bygone era. Yet they’re representatives of a new wave, a cultural paradigm shift in the way we define and think about gender. And while Mason has yet to come out officially at school, he recently told his classmates. It wasn’t a surprise or a big deal to them. He also graduated to Wong’s youth group. “The older kids were cool and made me feel good,” he says. “They talked about getting weird looks or being teased. Or good stuff, like their voices changing from hormones. Some of them talk about running away because their parents won’t accept who they are. I’m lucky because my parents want me to be happy. They want the outside to match the way I feel inside.”

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

BODY

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Q&A WITH DR. LAUREN BRAMLEY The Vancouver native talks about international clientele, West Coast influence and her new Whistler clinic 1. You studied in Canada, completed your residency in the United States, and are also licensed to practice in Australia. What made you choose Hong Kong as the location of your first clinic? My first job as a doctor was doing medical evacuations throughout Asia. An opportunity arose and I obtained my licence in Hong Kong where, due to the influence of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Western Medicine is seen as more of an art than a treatment protocol. This remained my driving force as I completed fellowships in Anti-aging Medicine and a Masters Degree in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.

2. What inspired you to expand, and why to Whistler? People often ask why I chose to open a practice where people are already so healthy, but even the healthiest people are diagnosed with preventative diseases like cancer, diabetes, mental health issues and dementia. I would also like to even the playing field for Canadians athletes with the latest in performance and rehabilitation medicine. Lastly—I have to be honest—my family and I love to ski, and having grown up in Vancouver I’ve always particularly loved skiing at Whistler.

3. What can patients expect from your new mountain-village location? The clinic will replicate the unique features of my Hong Kong practice; namely a wide range of pro-active medical treatments, in-house laboratory testing, customised nutritional supplements and access to compounded pharmaceuticals such as bioidentical hormones. To date we have a GP, an anti-aging focused urologist, a medical genomics consultant, a nutritionist, a sports medicine physician, a physiotherapist, an osteopath, an urgent care doctor, a psychologist and laser and aesthetic technicians. We also have a laboratory, pharmacy, lab technicians and a pharmacist all under the same roof. We will always strive to offer the very latest in medical treatments, including extensive medical platelet rich plasma and stem cell therapies. As a vacation destination, I ultimately hope to stimulate medical tourism in Whistler.

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SAY GOODBYE TO SEPTEMBER STRESS Yaletown Naturopathic’s expert team helps resolve this season’s extra stress

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A Sense of Place

When did you realize what it meant to be a West Coaster? We asked five Vanco

VA N M A G . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

Scott Sampson CEO of Science World, paleontologist and former host of PBS Kids’ Dinosaur Train

uverites to offer up their most formative experiences. As told to STEPHANIE ORFORD

Photograph by JOHN SINAL

When I was four, my mother took me into the University Endowment Lands, now known as Pacific Spirit Regional Park. We walked through the forest. It had been raining, and it was overcast, and the trees were dripping. I looked at the pond and she said, “Well, go look”—because I couldn’t see any tadpoles. So I went up to the pond. I had those big, black rubber boots that kids had back then, and I waded into the pond. Then I could see that there were these little things swimming around. I scooped up some in my hands, and I could feel them squirming around, and I looked at my mother and she just smiled. So I put down that handful of tadpoles and picked up another set. I stepped out farther and my boot flooded, and then the other boot flooded. I was just thinking about these little tadpoles swimming around in my boots, because they had to be. And my mother just smiled at me and let me wade into this pond until it was above my waist, almost to my chest. And I had this moment where I thought there was no difference between me and the pond. Those are the kinds of experiences that can be foundational for a child in forming a deep emotional bond with a place.

Dylan Thomas In the summertime we fly to Sonora Resort in Desolation Sound, and oftentimes we have a lot of tourists. On one particular day, I was flying a group of Swiss visitors up to the resort. It was a beautiful clear day, and we were able to fly over the mountains directly to Sonora. As we were standing on the helipad at Sonora, looking out across the water, a guest asked me the name of the island across from the resort. I said to him, “That’s actually not an island across the strait. It’s the mainland.” And he said, “If that’s the mainland, why does no one live there?” I’ve had the luxury of flying over Switzerland, and every valley is terraced and there are houses up to the treeline. They just don’t see the wilderness that we get to experience. I said to him that the nearest town to that piece of property is about 125 miles away and to get there you have to cross a mountain range. And if you started walking today, we would find your body sometime later, and you would never get to that town. It’s inaccessible, inhospitable and beautiful. But that’s the nature of it.

Chan Hon Goh Director of the Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver and former principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada Vancouverites embrace the warmth and the sunshine. It’s quite widely accepted that flip-flops and shorts come out whenever possible. I toured across the country in February, teaching my master class series, and I’ve been doing that for the past three years now. When I’m in Saskatoon or Winnipeg or Toronto, it’s still very, very cold. Coming back to Vancouver from my trip this year, it was about 15 degrees but sunny. It was my first weekend back, and I went out to get groceries, and I was still in my down coat because it was winter. I saw someone on the street walking their dog, and they were wearing shorts and a T-shirt. It’s not like it was in the 20s or anything. But when it’s sunny, the temperature goes up and people are ready to come out in their summer gear. It takes you by surprise.

Director of product innovation and development, and co-owner of Terra Breads I’ve lived here for 48 years. I’m a Vancouverite, born and raised. Two years ago, my husband, my two daughters and I went over to Cortes Island, and we had to hop several ferries to get there. That was the first day I’ve ever seen an orca in the wild. You know when you’re on BC Ferries going across and they announce the orcas are on the port side? I was always on the starboard side. I would always miss them. We were on this tiny little drive-on, single-deck ferry, and there was this beautiful pod that was just right there, and I got to see them come up and breach. On that same day on Cortes, there was a little festival that we stopped by, and it was a real hippie experience. Drums, a small park. It was something we hadn’t even planned on going to. There were girls hulahooping, and it was just this really West-Coast vibe. Then we grabbed some oyster shuckers and walked down to the beach and literally just picked oysters up off the sand and popped them open and ate them. That was a pretty monumental day.

OPPOSITE: MARK MONTGOMERY

Operations manager and chief pilot of the helicopter division for London Air Services, flying out of Vancouver

Mary Mackay

Renae Morriseau Aboriginal storyteller in residence at the Vancouver Public Library and former star of North of 60 on CBC When the City of Vancouver started its Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2013, it held an opening ceremony. There were hundreds of canoes in the water that went up to Science World. There were people from all over Canada, some from the States, some from Africa, talking about reconciliation. The gathering was open to the public, and people could listen to stories of residential school experiences. It was a rainy day and there was a reconciliation walk. More than 10,000 people showed up and walked, native and nonnative people, in the rain. I felt deep pride. Vancouver completely opened its arms. In fact, the City of Vancouver now recognizes it’s on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples—the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. There’s no other city that does that. That’s pretty profound for a huge city like Vancouver. I feel really proud to be here. We’re in a place of change.

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