Welcome to another edition of #munipoli Matters, where we cover the often under-reported arena of municipal politics, local elections and civic government happenings.
I thought I would diverge a bit from my usual focus on who’s retiring, who’s running for what position, who’s running against whom…to provide some updates on policy ideas from governments and political candidates that came to my attention.
Province, municipalities clash over housing in BC
There seems to be some disagreement in British Columbia over housing policy, specifically whether local governments are building enough of it.
Recently, the Union of BC Municipalities released a report showing that while enough homes are being built to match the province’s growing population, the number of affordable houses and rental properties are lacking.
But David Eby, the attorney general and minister in charge of housing, said the report’s findings that home construction aligns with population growth is at odds with the experiences of people looking to rent or buy homes in the province.
The word is Eby is planning to introduce legislation to mandate minimum building targets for housing in municipalities. That’s the belief of Jon Stovell, Chair of the Urban Development Institute Pacific Region.
UDIPR polling found about 65 per cent of British Columbians surveyed felt that supply is one of the biggest problems in housing affordability and that municipalities are a significant part of why that supply is a problem. “There has been a shift in public sentiment,” said Stovell.
While building housing is one key component to fixing the housing mess Canada finds itself in, consideration also has to be giving for substantive zoning reforms as well. Hopefully, BC will also look to pave the way in this area.
Winnipeg mayoral candidates and their promises
There are currently ten people running to be Winnipeg’s next mayor. All of them have various ideas of what they want to do should they get the job, or currently in development of them as they ‘crowd-source’ for ideas from the public.
Crowd-sourcing for their ideas seem to be the game plan for Jenny Motkaluk and Rana Bokhari. "The only way that I'm going to be able to put forward a compelling policy platform and show Winnipeggers a view of a very happy future is if I hear from them first. So that's what I'm going to be doing," Motkaluk said, adding that this time she actually wanted to put of few policies and emphasize to voters on who she is as a person.
Meanwhile Rick Shone, who owns The Wilderness Supply, has pledged to create LGBT advisory committee. Idris Adelakun, a biosystems engineer, has promised to reduce taxes and increase revenue, without saying precisely how. Grocery worker Chris Clacio posted that he wants to make public engagement more meaningful. Security company owner Don Woodstock said he wants stamp out corruption.
Robert Falcon-Ouellette, who promised to implement a ranked ballot system for voting in future municipal elections, has added that he wants to do more to alleviate people with addictions, although not many specifics were provided.
Two-term St. James Coun. Scott Gillingham has pledged to bring a construction adviser to city hall and to ensure the city fulfils more freedom-of-information requests. He also challenged the other candidates to cost out their campaigns.
Entrepreneur Shaun Loney, a former provincial environment policy advisor, made three promises: Forgoing most of his transportation allowance and to contract out the responsibility to respond to repeat 911 callers to social-service agencies so police can focus on crime. He also promised to relieve the stress on Winnipeg’s combined sewers by using vegetation to capture more rainwater.
At least there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of ideas coming from those who want to be Winnipeg’s next mayor.
New Westminster, BC
In this Greater Vancouver municipality right next to Burnaby, a local political party called New West Progressives have vowed to install free vehicle parking on all city-managed property if it is elected in October’s civic elections.
Daniel Fontaine, a candidate for city council under the party, says such a strategy is about “economic revitalization and making sure our commercial districts are vibrant.”
“One way to do that is to make sure that people who are shopping and coming down here for entertainment are not being nickel and dimed,” Fontaine said.
The free parking idea was adopted from a similar model implemented in Halifax, whereby a resident can waive a parking violation fine with a $35 purchase at a local business. Other cities across Canada and the United States have used free parking as a tool to help struggling local businesses. These programs are often supported by local business improvement associations.
Ken Armstrong is the New West Progressive’s mayoral candidate and the party is running five candidates to fill council seats. Mayor Jonathan Cote is not running for reelection.
Does Vancouver have a governance problem?
Not having distinct neighbourhood wards for members of council is probably the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how Vancouver is governed. This Vancouver Sun piece examines the ‘adaption of American-style "strong mayor” system that’s been implemented in some form since 2008 at city hall.
This sounds like something that we previously discussed about the kind of powers Canadian mayors should be asking for. It seems Vancouver took the more problematic parts of that system and implemented them, with not much better results.
Maybe the real issue is a proper voting system and more realistic representation on Vancouver City Council. In a recent online survey, 58% of likely voters in the city support moving to a ‘ward system’ and to abandon the current ‘at-large system’ whereby voters select 10 councillors to represent the whole city.
One scenario I’ve seen is using a STV (single transferable vote) system, using ‘local area’ boundaries (not wards). This would result in almost 100 councillors and might not be reasonable, but it is a curious thought exercise.
Cities united in grief over gun violence
It’s a recurring tragedy these days with gun violence in the United States as mass shootings at schools, malls and other public places are becoming the norm. The most recent high profile tragedy occurred in Uvalde, Texas, where an 18 year old gunman fatally shot 19 children at their school.
This is a statement from Vancouver, Washington State on the shooting. It also references shootings that have occurred in Chicago, Orange County, California, Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York.
“Our hearts break for all these communities and their collective loss. We also offer our condolences to those in our community who have been impacted by these horrific events. It is our hope that we will not need to do this again,” the statement reads, adding that Vancouver’s City Hall will lower flags at all city facilities.
The United States Conference of Mayors have issued a statement asking the Senate to give confirmation to a new Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
“The scourge of gun violence continues to plague our cities. It is taking the lives of too many of our residents, especially young people, and disrupting our communities. The ATF is vital to our efforts to reduce gun violence and make our cities safer. It works to stop illegal guns from entering our cities, investigate illegal gun trafficking, and regulate the gun industry. It is nearly a decade since ATF has had a confirmed director and to be able to fulfil its mission most effectively, the Bureau must have a strong, confirmed leader.”
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Nick Shcherban
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