So, what were the top stories in Richmond in 2022?
That might depend on how you count them — by their impact on the community, how they reflected problems affecting Richmondites, or what were the most read stories at Richmond-News.com.
We’ve compiled a highly subjective list that is a combination of the above. You may agree or disagree, but here are our picks.
Mountie killed in line of duty, Oct. 20
The story that brought international attention (apart from chaos at the airport) was the tragic death of RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang.
A full regimental funeral held at the Olympic Oval brought thousands of mourners to Richmond to remember the young officer killed while on duty.
Yang had been an RCMP officer for less than three years, and she was checking on a man living in a tent in Burnaby park when she was allegedly stabbed to death in October.
The front line, Dec. 1 and 8, 2022
While this stabbing took place in Burnaby, the issue of homelessness is also on the rise in Richmond. A story we felt was important was that of an outreach workers warning us that “The situation is really bad right now and is getting worse by the month. It’s about to blow up in our faces.”
That was Salvation Army outreach worker Hugh Freiberg, who is on the streets of Richmond six nights at week delivering meals to those who are without homes.
Poverty tends to be hidden in Richmond, but our story described people sleeping out in the open with nothing but a golf umbrella to protect them from the elements while a community of people living in old RVs have gathered in an industrial area of East Richmond.
Voter turnout dips down to 25%, Oct. 20
On the topic of housing, Richmond saw a municipal election in 2022 where much of the discussion centred around the housing crisis. Many candidates recognized the need for provincial and federal governments to do more to provide affordable housing while others pushed the “more supply needed” narrative.
The electoral results were hardly a shakeup with all incumbents being re-elected, but two new faces, Kash Heed and Laura Gillanders, replaced the retiring Harold Steves and Linda McPhail.
Birth tourist sues hospital, doctors and birth hotel, Dec. 22
The issue of birth tourism has been a hot one in the past. The practice of pregnant women from abroad coming to Canada to secure Canadian citizenship for their babies born here is technically legal, but highly controversial. COVID-19 travel restrictions damped down the practice, however, our recent story about a man suing Richmond Hospital and the birthing house where his wife stayed clearly struck a nerve. It was one of our best read stories of the year.
While we saw far fewer COVID-19 stories in the news in 2022 compared to the prior years, what followed in its wake was news of other respiratory illnesses that seemed to hit children particularly hard.
Girl, 6, loses life after flu complications, Dec. 8
The community was shaken at news of the death of a six-year-old Richmond girl, Danielle Mei Cabana. The girl had developed the flu, like her sister, around Remembrance Day and but died a few weeks later due to complications.
System strained, new GPs reject private practice, May 12
The triple threat this fall of RSV, the flu and lingering COVID-19 cases has highlighted the fragility of our health-care system and, in particular, the shortage of family doctors.
There might be some relief in the new year after the province started to move away from the fee-for-service model and significantly bumped up compensation for family doctors, from $250,000 to $385,000. After the announcement in November, Richmond family doctor Sharon Dodd said it finally felt “like we can breathe and stay in practice.”
There is no word to describe the loss of a child, Aug. 25
While the impact of the pandemic continues to reverberate on our health-care system, so too does the toxic drug crisis. We have done numerous stories on the number of people killed by a poisoned supply, but none touched our Richmond News family as profoundly as a column written by one of our own reporters about the death of her son due to toxic drugs. If we, as journalists, have one resolution for the New Year, it is to find a better way to tell those stories — to honour Michael, and all the other Michaels, hold power to account, and help us all see the way out.
Protesters mar family-friendly event in park, July 28
A story that was both disturbing and inspiring was that of a “drag storytime” where a drag queen was hired by the Richmond library to read stories to children and their families in a neighbourhood park.
Protesters showed up to the reading with rainbow swastikas and threatened the story teller, but members of the audience quickly formed a barrier to protect her.
Family steps up during snowfall chaos, Nov. 30
Also on the theme of stepping up, many families and neighbours took to the streets to provide necessities to people stuck in their cars during November’s bridge closures amid the first snowfall of the season. The Johal family handed out hot water, tea, food and even power banks to people who needed them.
Probation, criminal record for couple in racist coffee shop case, Nov. 10
The story of a couple dumping coffee on the floor of a Steveston coffee shop and throwing the mainly empty cup in the face of a staff member concluded when the couple were convicted of mischief.
The judge found their actions were at least partially “motivated by bias, prejudice or hate” against the Chinese community.
Anti-Asian-hate advocates told the News they felt justice had finally been served after the couple received a one-year suspended sentence in November, a year and a half after the incident.
