The Buzz · Vancouver Morning Wire

Your Vancouver commute is about to get way worse.

Your commute might get a lot more complicated

Okay, so you know how sometimes you look at a problem, and you think, "There's no way this is going to get better before it gets worse"? That's kind of the vibe I'm getting from the Metro Vancouver Regional District. Because, as of yesterday, the union representing over 600 of their outside workers — think about the folks who keep our water flowing, our sewage treated, our regional parks maintained — they've issued a 72-hour strike notice. If you’ve ever tried to drive across the Lions Gate Bridge at rush hour, you know how quickly a small disruption becomes a *major* headache.

This is more than just some abstract labour dispute. These are the people who keep the city humming, literally from the taps in your Kitsilano kitchen to the trails up on Cypress Mountain. They’re saying they’ve hit an impasse with the employer, which, you know, is a pretty common phrase in these situations. But when these specific workers walk off the job, the ripple effect across Metro Vancouver could be… extensive. We're talking about essential services that you probably don't even think about until they're not there.

* **Water treatment:** Imagine issues with the stuff coming out of the taps. Not great. * **Wastewater management:** This one doesn't need much explanation, does it? * **Regional parks and amenities:** Your weekend hike on the North Shore? Might be impacted. * **Waste collection facilities:** The transfer stations, the recycling depots... could see disruptions.

Beautiful out here. Complicated in here. That's the coast.

Moe and the team dig into these things every morning, you should check it out at mornings.live.

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